UP THE NILE, 



AND HOME AGAIN. 



A HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS AND A TRAVEL-BOOK 
FOR THE LIBRARY. 




BY 



F. W7FAIRH0LT, F.S.A., 



HONORARY MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF NORMANDY, 
PICARDY, AND POITIERS. 

AUTHOR OF " COSTUME IN ENGLAND," ETC. ETC. 




Mill} em graMtfe ^llmMkm, 

FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR. 




LONDON : 

CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY 

1862. 



[The right of Translation reserved.] 



LONDON : 
PRINTED BY JAMES S. VIRTUE, 
CITY ROAD. 




TO THE 



LORD LONDESBO ROUGH, 

f |is Mmm is §tVmtti f 

BY ITS AUTHOR, 

EN PLEASANT AND GRATEFUL MEMOBY OF THE VOYAGE WHICH 

ORIGINATED IT. 



PREFACE. 



Some few words may be necessary in explanation of 
the motives which have induced this addition to the 
library of Nile literature. 

A bronchial affection had rendered it necessary for 
the Author to seek a warmer winter climate than our 
own • and Lord Londesborough, with the kind con- 
sideration of an old friend, having given him the 
privilege of being his travelling companion, up a 
river whose history and associations had always been 
of paramount interest to him, he started with no 
other idea than that of re-establishing health, and 
investigating, for his own instruction, the wondrous 
remains of early art on the banks of the Nile. During 
the voyage, sketches and notes accumulated, and 
appeared at last to assume an interest sufficient to 
warrant the compilation of this Volume. 

Eschewing elaborate details of architectural re- 
mains, which have been abundantly described else- 



VU1 PREFACE. 

where, the aim of the present volume is chiefly to 
narrate the aspect of the river, its towns and their 
inhabitants ; and to describe what strikes the eve 
and mind of a stranger most forcibly on a first visit 
to "the land of Mizraim." The absorbing interest 
of the antique remains has hitherto precluded 
much notice of ordinary life on the Nile. Many 
picturesque and important towns have never been 
represented, even in the most elaborate and expensive 
illustrated books ; while the social, geological, and 
other features of the country have received less 
notice than usual ; to those, therefore, the Author has 
devoted his chief attention ; and the illustrations of 
the present volume comprise subjects (with very few 
exceptions) hitherto unengraved. 

The traveller will find in Wilkinson and Lane's 
works, on the ancient and modern Egyptians, all 
that he will require in elucidation of their manners. 
They are indispensable companions to the tour. 
The good practical character of these books, com- 
bined with their perfect scholarship, give them the 
utmost value. It may be well to note here, that the 
Author has adopted Wilkinson's chronology through- 
out ; because ancient Egyptian dates generally vary- 
ing (and sometimes to a great extent) according to 



PREFACE. ix 

the conclusions of different students, some one must 
be selected as a guide, and none are characterised by 
sounder sense than Wilkinson. 

The Illustrations to this volume have been selected 
from more than two hundred sketches made on the 
river and its banks, by the Author, and afterwards 
engraved by his own hand, with the exception of the 
woodcuts, which having been drawn upon the wood 
by him, were very carefully executed by his friend 
Mr. Henry Rimbault. This is the only assistance, 
literary or artistic, which the Author has received. 

The Nile traveller will do the book and its author 
good service, by noting any facts that may be 
added to a future edition. Its great and only aim 
is to be useful to the voyager — out and home again ; 
and to be truthful to those who consult it exclusively 
at home. 



ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

THE VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 

Arrangements by Steamboat from Southampton. — Bay of Biscay. — 
Gibraltar. — Malta. — First View of Egypt pages 1 — 13 

CHAPTER II. 
ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 

Egyptian Donkeys and Donkey-boys. — Shopkeepers' English. — The 
Old and New Town. — Buying and Selling. — Pipes and Tobacco. — 
Characteristics of Alexandria. — Picturesque Localities. — Women 
Porters. — Antiquities. — Cleopatra's Xeedle. — Pompey's Pillar. — 
The Arab Town. — Backsheesh. — The Catacombs. — The Mahmoudie 
Canal. — Railway to Cairo. — Agricultural Statistics of the Delta. — 
First View of Cairo. — Railway Confusion 14 — 40 

CHAPTER III. 

CAIRO AXD THE PYRAMIDS. 

Picturesque Character of Cairo. — Old and Xew Styles. — Descriptions 
by Sandys and Volney. — Eye Diseases. — The L^zbeekeah. — The 
Mooskee. — The Bab Zooayleh, and Charms against Diseases. — The 



Xll 



CONTENTS. 



Citadel. — Mosques. — Prejudices Removed. — Bazaars. — Lamps. — 
Running Footmen. — Dogs. — Shoubra Gardens. — Fostat. — Mediae- 
val Babylon. — The Nilometer. — Ghizeh. — The Pyramids. — The 
Sphinx 41—76 

CHAPTER IV. 
BOULAK TO MINIEH. 

The Pasha's Museum, at Boulak. — The Dahabeah, its Crew and 
General Arrangements. — Dragomen. — The Island of El Rodah. — 
Pyramids at Abouseer. — Mummied Bulls. — The Sakkara Pyramids. 
— Site of Memphis. — Mummied Ibis. — Pyramids at Dashour. — 
Quarries at Masarah. — The Bahr Yussuf . — The False Pyramid. — 

' Aspect of the River. — The Sakia and Shadoof. — Village Houses. — 
Geological Features. — Monotony Of the River. — Traffic Boats. — 
Shooting on the Nile. — Wild Birds. — Pigeon Villages. — Benisouef . — 
The Norek. — Nile Fishes. — Evening at Bibbeh. — Fantastic Rocks at 
Malateah. — Sharouna. — Ancient Quarries. — Peasant and Bedouin. 
— Village Life. — The Gebel-el-Tayr. — Convent of Sittina and its 
Mendicant Monks 77—126 

CHAPTER V. 

MINIEH TO SIOUT. 

A Busy Scene. — Sugar Manufactory. — Victualling the Boat. — Egyp- 
tian pictures of Steamers. — The Evil Eye. — Superstitious Credu- 
lity. — Ancient Sepulchres. — Charon's Boat. — Fertility of the Land. 
— Grain Boats and cheating Crews. — Games of the Peasants. — 
Boat Discipline. — Beni-Hassan and its Wondrous Tombs. — A'ab 
Thieves. — Cave of Diana. — Local Names. — Antinopoiis. — Destruc- 
tion of Ancient Monuments. — Beauty of the River. — The Bahr 
Yussuf. — Construction of Canals. — The Birds of Sheikh Said. — 
Tel-el- Am arna. — Gebel Abou-Fayda. — Slave-Boats. — Slavery in 
Egypt. — The Doum-Palm. — Manfaloot and the Crocodile Caverns. 
— Reasons for Crocodile Worship : 127 — 168 



CONTENTS 



Xlll 



CHAPTEE VI. 

SIOTJT TO EE^'EH. 

Beautiful situation of Siout. — Conscription and its consequences. — 
Trade of Siout. — Pottery. — Tobacco Pipes. — The Bazaar. — John of 
Lycopolis. — The Ancient Egyptian Hermits. — Boatmen's Songs. — 
Antreopolis. — Tahta. — Vast flocks of Birds. — G-ebel Sheikh He- 
reede and its fabulous Serpent. — Sculptured Cares. — Foul "Winds. 
— The White Convent. — Ekhmim. — Myriads of Pigeons. — Worship 
of Pan. — Coptic Christians. — Mensheeh. — Girgeh. — Encroach- 
ments of the River. — Ruins of Abydus. — Plan of Ancient Egyptian 
Temples. — Shepherds of the Plain. — Slings and Slingers, Egyptian 
and Saxon. — Farming in Egypt, its risks and cares. — The Market 
at Belliaueh. — Cheap Jewellery. — A Travelling Blacksmith and his 
forge. — Dancing-girls, and their punishment by the local 
Governor. — Crocodiles. — Good Shooting. — A Holy Man," his 
history and aspect. — Monotony of the River. — Keneh and its 
trade. — The Governor's House. — Conscription again. — Interview 
with the Pasha. — The Inn of the Pilgrims to Mecca. — Pottery 
manufacture at Eeneh. — A Busy Bazaar. — A Moolid . . . 169 — 230 

CHAPTEE TIL 

KENEH TO THEBES. 

Egyptian English.—" Seeing the Saint."— A Trip to the Holy Fair. 
— Irs Religious and its Secular Scenes. — The Zikr. — Dancing- 
girls. — Arab Jereed-jjl&y. — Dendera. — Portrait of Cleopatra. — 
Chambers of Mystery. — Sanctuary on the roof. — Water-Spouts.— 
Colony of Wasps. — The Sacred Cow, and its worship by modern 
Sepoys. — The Typhoneum. — Dexterity of the ancient Tentyrites 
in capturing Crocodiles. — An Egyptian Tumbler. — Ballas and its 
Water-jars. — A Pottery Raft. — Sunset on the Nile. — Peculiar 
atmospheric effects. — Ancient Cities. — Xegadeh. — The Malayeb. — 
Christian Monks. — Pigeon-Towers. — Egyptian dirt and laziness. 
— Encroachment of the River. — Vast flocks of birds. — Approach 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



to Thebes. — Luxor and its Consuls. — Dealers in Antiquities. — 
The Forgers of Gournou. — Tricks on Travellers. — Rain in 
Egypt, 231—271 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

ANCIENT THEBES. 

Guides for Travellers. — The Libyan Shore. — The Colossi of the Plain, 
— The Vocal Memnon and the secret of its voice. — Village of 
Gournou. — Clay Ovens. — The Peasantry and their Houses. — Forged 
Antiquities. — The Rameseum and its Colossal Statue. — Belzoni and 
Memnon' s head. — Difficulty of its Removal. — Temple of A num. — 
Tomb of the Family of Amunoph III. — Vandalism, of Dr. Lepsius. 
— Tombs on the hill sides. — Mummies of Cats. — Sacred Cats. — 
Witches' Cats. — The Brickmaker's Tomb. — Sepulchres of the Assa- 
seef. — The Biban-el-Malook. — Tombs of the Kings, and their 
desecration. — Egyptian Theology.- — Sacred Animals and Symbols. — 
The Harper's Tomb. — Belzoni's Tomb — its alabaster Sarcophagus 
— its mystic Pictures. — Disgraceful desecration by Europeans. — 
Dr. Lepsius again. — The Mountain-road. — The Plain of Thebes. — 
The Palace-Temple at Medinet-Abou. — Conventional representa- 
tion. — An early Greek Church. — Tombs of the Queens. — Karnac. 
— Recent Excavations, and how effected. — Grandeur and vastness 
of the Ruins. — Sculptured representation of King Rehoboam. — 
Guides and Donkey-Boys. — Luxor and its Obelisks. — The Temple 
and its bassi-relievi. — Art made fragmentary ... ... 272 — 329 

CHAPTEE IX. 

THEBES TO EDFOU. 

Farewell to Luxor. — Erment. — Cleopatra's Temple. — Beauty of 
Ancient Art. — Art in its designed locality. — Crocodilopolis. — 
Gebel-Ain. — The Crocodile and the Zic-zac. — Esne. — The Great 
Temple. — The Bazaar. — The Roman Quay. — Effects of the Inun- 
dations. — Dancing Girls and Mohamed Ali. — A Fantasia. — Style 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



of Dancing, and lineage of Dancers. — European Manners criticised 
by Egyptian moralists. — El-Kab and its Tombs. — The Great Temple 
at Edfou, and its recent exhumation. — Grand character of the 
building. — Purity of its condition, and appeal for its due pro- 
tection 330—359 



CHAPTER X. 

EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 

The Euined Town of Booayb. — Gebel Silsilis, its vast Quarries and 
curious Eock Temples. — The Legend of the chain. — Geology of the 
cliffs. — Changes in the stream. — Temple at Kom-Ombos. — Dry- 
ness of jthe climate. — Juvenal's description of the Religious Feud 
between the Ombites and Tentyrites. — Beauty of the Eiver. — 
Nubian Costume. — Nose-rings. — Ear-rings. — Tattooing. — Walking- 
staves, Ancient and Modern. — First View of Assouan. — Trade 
of the Town. — Isle of Elephantine. — Vast heaps of broken 
Pottery. — Inscribed Tiles. — Arab Traditionary Tale. — Ancient 
and Modern Aspect of Assouan. — Boatmen of the Cataract. — 
Boat Charges. — Inscribed Eocks. — Quarries. — Scripture Prophecy 
fulfilled 360—392 



CHAPTEE XI. 

ASSOUAN TO ?mLM AND ABOU-SIMBOUL. 

Experiences of Desert Travel. — Ancient Boundary Wall and its 
legendary history. — Mahatta and the Cataract. — Passage of a 
boat. — Island of Phibe. — Christian remains. — Disfigurement of 
buildings by modern inscriptions. — Pharaoh's Bed. — Admiration 
felt by the Ancient Egyptians for the Island. — Imposition on its 
Priests, and their protective policy. — Scenery of the Eiver. — 
Temples at Dabod, Kardassy, and Tafa. — Kalabshe and its inhabi- 
tants, their Dress and Costume. — The Tropic entered. — Dandour, 



xvi 



CONTENTS. 



Gyrshe, and Dakke. — The Valley of Lions. — Deir. — The Fortress 
of Ibreem. — The Bock Temples at Abou-Simboul. — Wady Halfeh, 
and the Second Cataract 393 — 429 

CHAPTEB XII. 

THE NILE IN ITS SACEED AND SANATOEY ASPECT. — 
THE EETUEN VOYAGE. 

Great interest of Egyptian Studies. — The Nile Deified. — The God, as 
pictured by Egyptian, Greek, and Boraan Artists. — Sanatory pro- 
perties attributed to the Stream. — Fertility of Egypt. — Analysation 
of the Soil. — Notes on the Climate of the Valley of the Nile. — 
Violent changes in its temperature. — Advice to Travellers. — 
Summary of advantage and disadvantage in Nile Travelling. — 
Start for Cairo. — The Eeturn Voyage. — Boatmen's speculative 
traffic. — Old scenes from new points of view. — The Evil Eye 
avoided. — Eoutes from Alexandria home 430 — 448 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PLATE PAGE 

I. — Street in Cairo ... Frontispiece, described 48 

The God of the Nile ... Vignette on Title, described 434 

Grocer's Shop at Alexandria ... ... ... ... 20 

Catacomb at Alexandria : . . ... ... ... 32 

First View of Cairo 38 

Charms against Disease ... ... ... ... 50 

II. — Gate of the Khan Khaleel ... 54 

An Egyptian Lamp ... ... ... ... ... 54 

The Meshal or Cresset ... ... ... ... ... 55 

TheNilometer ... 61 

The Eing of Cheops , ... 67 

Ancient Egyptian Ear-ring ... ... ... ... 70 

Excavations at the Sphinx ... ... ... ... 73 

TheDahabeah 79 

Nile Boats leaving Cairo ... ... ... ... 85 

Mode of building Pyramids ... ... ... ... 88 

Mummied Bull 89 

Pyramid at Sakkara ... ... ... ... ... 91 

Mummied Ibis 93 

Pyramids of Dashour ... ... ... . . ... 95 

The False Pyramid at Maydoim 97 

TheSakia 99 

The Shadoof 101 

Ancient Shadoof 102 

Geological Yiew at Zaytoun ... ... ... ... 106 

Traffic Boats of the Nile 108 

Grain and Straw Boats ... 109 

Ferry Boat Ill 



XV111 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PLATE 



PAGE 



III. — Pigeon Village near Benisouef 112 

TheNorek 113 

Stratification of Kocks at Malateah 116 



Quarry at Sheikh Hassan ... ... ... ... 118 



V. — The Convent of Sittina ... ... ... ... 123 

VI.— Minieh 129 

Egyptian Pictures of Steamboats ... ... ... 130 

Eock-tombs at Beni-Hassan ... ... ... ... 140 

VII. — Interior of Tomb at Beni-Hassan ... ... ... 145 

Southern Tomb at Beni-Hassan ... ... ... 148 

The Doum Palm 161 

Mummied Crocodile . ... ... ... ... 165 

Water-bottle made at Siout 173 

Tobacco-pipe on Wheels ... ... ... ... 175 

VIII. — Bazaar, Siout 175 

IX.— Tahta ... 186 

X.— Ekhmim 193 

Convent near Ekhmim ... ... ... ... ... 197 

XL— GlRGEH 199 

XII.— Abydus 203 

Section of Arch at Abydus 204 

Ground-plan of an Egyptian Temple ... ... 205 

Egyptian Sling 208 

Anglo-Saxon Sling 208 

An Egyptian Woman Wearing Jewellery ... ... 212 

Ebony Comb 213 

Blacksmith's Bellows 216 

XIII. — Entrance to Bazaar, Keneh 228 

Water-bottles made at Keneh ... ... ... 228 

Portrait of Cleopatra, Dendera ... ... ... 243 

Window in the Temple of Dendera ... ... ... 247 

Water-spout, Dendera ... 248 

Ancient Egyptian Tumbler ... ... ... ... 254 

Pottery Eaft 256 

Sunset on the Nile 258 



IV. SllAROUNA 



117 



Pigeon-house, Golosaneh 



120 



ILLUSTRATIONS. XiX 

PLATE. PAGE. 

Man Dressed in the Malayat ... ... ... ... 260 

Orens in the Plain of Thebes ... ... ... ... 280 

XIY.— The Bameseum, Thebes 284 

Mu mm ied Cat 292 

Plan of the Harper s Chamber ... ... ... 303 

Bench in Belzonrs Tomb ... ... ... ... 305 

Basket of Figs 311 

Embattlement at Medinet-Abou ... ... ... 313 

Early Greek Capital at Medinet-Abou ... ... 314 

XV. — Great Hall, EArxac 323 

Erng Behoboam ... ... ... ... ... 324 

TheGebel-Ain 334 

Pilaster of Quay, at Esne ... 341 

Egyptian Dancing-girl ... ... ... ... 345 

Dancers' Cymbals ... ... ... ... ... 346 

XVI. — Temple at Edfou ... ... ... ... ... 353 

Shrine at Edfou 354 

Bums of Booayb ... ... ... 361 

Exterior of Bock-temple, Silsilis ... ... ... 365 

XVII. — Interior of Bock- temple, Silsilis ... ... ... 366 

XVIII. — Temples at Silsilis ... ... ... ... ... 367 

Strata of Biver-bank, Silsilis ... ... ... ... 369 

A Nubian Girl 376 

Nose-rings ... ... ... ... ... ... 378 

Ear-rings ... ... ... ... ... ... 379 

Tattooed Hands 380 

Walking Staves 381 

XIX.— Assouan 382 

Group of Pottery 386 

Crosses at Philse ... ... ... ... ... 404 

Christian Arch at PhlLse 404 

XX.— The Island of Philje 408 

Nubian Dagger ... ... ... ... ... ... 415 

Nubian Head-dress ... ... ... ... ... 416 

Nubian Ear-ring and Nose-ring ... ... ... 418 

The Deity of the Nile 433 



UP THE NILE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 

Southampton — one of the most agreeable of Eng- 
land's seaports — is the locality selected by the Penin- 
sular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company for 
the departure and return of the important fleet they 
own, and which connects us with our Indian posses- 
sions. As this is the quickest and most direct mode 
of reaching Egypt, we will conduct the traveller out 
this way ; leaving his return provided for in a way 
to be detailed at the close of this volume. 

The steamers to Alexandria leave Southampton on 
the 4th, 12th, 20th, and 27th of every month at 
one p.m. ; except when the above dates fall on a 
Sunday, in w r hich case they leave at nine a.m. 
Passengers leaving Southampton on the above dates, 
arrive at Gibraltar in about five days; and, after 
staying there from six to twelve hours, proceed to 
Malta, arriving there in about nine days. The 

B 



2 UP THE NILE. 

ordinary stay at the island is about six hours ; and 
the voyage to Alexandria is usually completed in 
about thirteen days from Southampton. The fol- 
lowing are the rates of passage-money : — 



To 


1st Class, 
Single Passage. 


Children, 
3 years and 
under 10. 


2nd Class, 
and Passengers' 
Servants. 


Gibraltar .... 


£13 


£7 


£9 


Malta 


20 


10 


12 


Alexandria .... 


30 


15 


19 



One child under three years of age, if with the parent, free. 



Such persons as have an insuperable objection to 
the long sea voyage across the Bay of Biscay and by 
Gibraltar to Malta, can pass through France by rail- 
way to Marseilles, and there meet the company's 
steamers for Malta and Alexandria, on the 5th, 12th, 
20th, and 28th of the month, at seven a.m. Pas- 
sengers must be at Marseilles the afternoon of the 
day previous to sailing. It must be remembered 
that when the 3rd, 10th, 18th, or 26th of the month 
falls on a Sunday, the Marseilles portion of the over- 
land mails leaves London on the following day, and 
the steamers are despatched from Marseilles at seven 
a.m. on the 6th, 13th, 21st, and 29th of the month. 
The rates of passage are as follows : — 



To 


1st Class. 


2nd Class, and 
Passengers' Servants. 


Alexandria .... 


£10 
20 


£5 
10 



VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA, 



3 



Children under ten years of age are charged lialf 
these rates. One child under three years of age, if 
with the parent, is free. Passengers booking and pay- 
ing their passage money at Marseilles must pay the 
amount in the currency of the place (francs); at the 
company's advertised rates. This is understood to be 
for the sea passage only ; and includes stewards' fees, 
table, wines, &c. ; for first-class passengers. Bedding, 
linen, and all requisite cabin furniture, are pro- 
vided in the steamers at the company's expense, 
together with the attendance of experienced male 
and female servants. A properly qualified surgeon 
is on board each vessel, whose services are also 
rendered gratuitously. 

The regulations concerning passengers are these: — 
Half the amount of passage-money, when the passage 
exceeds £20, is required to be paid on securing a 
passage, and the balance a fortnight before embarka- 
tion. Passengers not embarking after engaging the 
passage, to forfeit the deposit of half the amount of 
passage-money. In case, however, of a passenger 
being unavoidably prevented from availing himself 
of a passage at the period for which it is taken, a 
transfer can be effected to a subsequent steamer, on 
sufficient notice being given, without forfeiture of any 
portion of the deposit paid, and accommodation will 
be allotted as similar as circumstances will permit. 

b 2 



4 



UP THE KILE. 



First-class passengers are allowed 336 lbs. of per- 
sonal baggage free of freight, and children (over three 
and under ten years of age) and servants, 168 lbs. 
each. A passenger taking a whole cabin is entitled 
to take in the steamers, free of freight, 4^ ewt. ; and 
a married couple, paying for reserved accommoda- 
tion, are entitled to take 9 cwt. The charge for 
conveyance of extra baggage, should there be room 
in the vessel, is at the rate of 10s. per cwt. between 
Southampton, Gibraltar, Marseilles, Malta, or Alex- 
andria. Baggage can occasionally be had up when 
absolutely necessary during the passage, by applica- 
tion to the officer in charge. As no trunks or 
boxes are allowed in the saloon or cabins, but only 
small portmanteaus or carpet-bags, it is usual to set 
aside stated days on the voyage when the heavy 
baggage may be had up from the hold for the con- 
venience of voyagers. Baggage may be insured for 
the entire journey on very moderate terms, the 
company having arranged for it with the Marine Life 
and Casualty Assurance Society, bv which the cost 
of insuring to any of the Mediterranean ports (in- 
cluding stamps) is at the rate of 8s. for £50, and so 
on to £500, for which the cost is £3 17s. 6d. All 
baggage must be shipped not later than noon on the 
day previous to sailing, except carpet-bags or hat- 
boxes. 



VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 5 

Let us now imagine that all the necessary regula- 
tions have been complied with, and that our vessel 
emerges from the dock into Southampton Water, 
The beauty of that estuary need not be here insisted 
on ; it is well known to all who visit the Isle of 
Wights with the intention of landing at Kyde. We 
pass Calshot Castle, and turn into the Solent, making 
our way between the island and the Hampshire coast, 
ultimately passing " the Xeedie ;; rocks. As the sun 
went down on the evening of the 4th of December, 
1859, when the author of this volume began the 
voyage it describes, the scene seemed a realisation 
of the old Phoenician mariners' tales of the British 
islands being occasionally shrouded in fogs, which 
gave them mystic security ; baffling the adventurer 
with a vapoury wall, which he only knew how to 
penetrate. The clay had been wet and cold ; the sun 
set in lurid light breaking through heavy clouds ; the 
receding coast of England appeared gradually to be 
absorbed in a dull fog ; and we seemed to be flying 
from the thick veil which ultimately closed over it. 
As we got into the open sea, the sky cleared, the 
dark clouds gathered like a heavy curtain, which 
appeared as if slowly lifted from the horizon ; and a 
bright blue sky studded with brilliant stars, a mild 
breeze, and calm waves, made our first night at sea 
pleasant. 



6 



UP THE XILE. 



Shakespeare's duplication of "cabin'd," as "cribbed, 
confined/' gives a true notion of the horrors of a 
sleeping-berth on board ship. The Peninsular boats 
are as comfortable as we suppose they can be ; but 
nothing can make pleasant a cabin not larger than a 
servant's pantry, in which you are packed with three 
strangers, more or less agreeable, and " compelled 93 
to be on the most intimate terms with, whether vou 
like it or not. In a stifling atmosphere, with a noise 
of machinery constantly in motion, and sick fellow- 
lodgers, the vessel, like Macbeth, " doth murder 
sleep/' For those who can bear the sea, the day-life 
is pleasant enough, and nothing that can add to the 
passenger's comforts or enjoyment is unthought of 
in these excellent boats. It is one round of eating, 
drinking, and pleasant play — a veritable " Castle of 
Indolence," without Thomson's insubstantialitv. A 
gay trumpet-call summons all to breakfast at nine, 
where tea and coffee is almost invisible among the 
numerous dishes which cover the board. A luncheon 
at one, with wine and ale, interferes, for a short time, 
with the varied deck amusements. At five p.m. 
dinner is announced, by the trumpeter gaily playing 
" The Roast Beef of old England and at eight p.m. 
the cheerful old tune of C( Polly, put the Kettle on" 
announces tea. At nine wine and spirits are pro- 
vided as " a night-cap ; " and by half-past ten all 



VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 7 

lights are extinguished. Between the saloon meals 
others are provided for second-class passengers and 
children, whose refreshment-hours are notified with 
the old tune to the nursery-rhyme of " Boys and 
Girls come out to play/' — so that the ship resembled 
Chaucer's description of the rich yeoman's house^ 
and seemed as if it "snowed meat and drink." 

After Ushant the Bay of Biscay is crossed, and 
water only meets the eye until Cape St. Vincent 
relieves the monotony of the scene. The cape is a 
bold promontory, with cliffs of great height ; the 
entire coast being wild and precipitous. A square 
fort is on the edge of the table -land, and is said to 
have been built by the Moors, as a "look out." 
Occasional peeps at the Spanish coast now occur 
until Gibraltar is reached. 

It is impossible to exaggerate the grandeur and 
beauty of the bay of Gibraltar, or to speak with too 
much enthusiasm of the world-renowned rock. It 
had been stormy weather when we entered the bay, 
and the effects produced by partial mists and rain 
were sometimes very fine. The Spanish city of 
Algesiras was spanned by a rainbow of the brightest 
tints ; the sea of the lightest hues, pure blue fading 
into shades of green as it became shallower over the 
sands ; the mists aided sea, earth, and sky, in 
harmonious blendings, exactly like one of Turner's 



8 UP THE NILE. 

pictures when that painter was in his most poetic 
moocl. Close to the landing-place is an excellent 
market. The town is curious from the crowded 
mixture of people of many nations, in costumes so 
various that it gave the scene somewhat the appear- 
ance of a masquerade. English, French, and Spanish 
soldiers and sailors \ muleteers crowding the gates ; 
Turks, Greeks, Moors, and Africans, mixed in pic- 
turesque confusion. The constant occurrence of 
English names over shops, and the native names of 
streets with English translations painted below them, 
gave an odd effect to the whole. Mules everywhere 
with pack-saddles, or herds of goats led by boys. 
Houses piled in picturesque confusion, overtopped 
by old Moorish or modern fortifications ; and, above 
all, the fantastic forms of the rocky pathways sloping 
up the mountain, covered in parts with vegetation 
more or less tropical, — the palm-tree, the more 
graceful cork-tree, and groves of lemon and orange 
trees, mixed into dense masses of verdure ; brilliant 
bunches of scarlet flowers lining the road, the 
product of the Aloe liliaca j scarlet geraniums 
growing wild like strong bushes, marigolds and jon- 
quils, — combined to make the most beautiful variety 
of forms and colours. Mounting the rock, the view 
obtained above Europa Point — embracing the entire 
bay, the coast of Spain, and the distant promontory 



VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 



9 



of Ceuta, in Africa — is one of the most glorious 

panoramas the world can show. The zest with 

which the three hours' ramble may be enjoyed, 

while the steamer stays in this bay, is a repayment 

for the discomforts of that of Biscay. 

t/ 

The voyage soon becomes tedious when Gibraltar 
is passed, and the coast of Andalusia fades from 
sight. Now and then a distant island or headland 
may be seen, such as the high coast of Barbary, or 
the Isle of Pantaleone. The evening of the third 
day brings the good ship to Malta, and it comes to 
an anchor in the quarantine harbour at Yaletta. 
Six hours are generally allowed her for coaling and 
other necessities in the voyage ; and as the vessel is 
usually anchored about six p.m., the passengers go 
ashore till midnight. This allows two hours to visit 
the "sights" of Yaletta, or to make purchases in the 
shops, and wind up at the opera, which commences 
at eight and is over by eleven. Brief as the time 
may seem, it is abundant for all this. Landing at 
the "Nix Mangiare" stairs — so called from the 
beggars that used to infest them, and declare in 
those words that they had "nothing to eat ;; — you 
see before you the " cursed streets of stairs " de- 
nounced by Byron, and that aid you in reaching 
transverse streets on various levels, or the most 
important " Strada Reale," at the summit of the 

b 3 



10 



UP THE NILE. 



town. The streets are all picturesque, and exhibit 
Oriental taste in the latticed pavilions, or projecting 
covered balconies, which are built in front of each. 
Every house is of dazzling whiteness, and at night 
the effect is very vivid, as they stand in relief against 
the deep blue sky. The shops are all good, and the 
fancy articles with which they abound singularly 
cheap — gloves and lace particularly so, the latter 
remarkable for its beauty of design. There is also a 
large trade carried on in the manufacture of the soft 
white stone, peculiar to the island, into vases and 
other ornamental articles, which generally attract 
from the elaboration of their workmanship and the 
moderation of their prices : they can be conve- 
niently shipped in return boats, and at low rates. 
Those who prefer " sights " to " shopping/' can 
compass the whole in a short while ; the Church of 
St. John and the Government House being close to 
each other, and are all that the town affords, except 
such as may be examined in strolling where fancy 
leads. The Church of St. John is well worth a visit ; 
it is ornate to excess, a mass of decoration and 
colour : the floor, entirely covered with monuments 
to the memory of the Knights of Malta, with their 
coat-armour emblazoned in proper tints, is composed 
of slabs of coloured marbles. The walls and ceiling 
are resplendent with gilding and ornament \ the 



VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 



11 



tombs of the Masters of the Grand Order are impos- 
ing ; so is the altar with its abundantly rich fittings. 
There is a throne on one side for 'the archbishop, 
and another opposite for our gracious Lady, who is 
sovereign of the island. One of the gates of a side 
chapel is entirely wrought in massive silver/ all 
denoting the wealth once owned by the knights as 
protectors of the pilgrims to the Holy Land. The 
palace, now the Government House, contains an 
armoury, but with very few old or interesting suits : 
the portions of armour taken from the commander 
of the Turkish forces during the famous siege ; the 
relics of the heroic Lavalette, and the armour of 
Vignancourt — the same as Caravaggio painted him 
wearing ; the bull of the Pope granting the island to 
the brotherhood ; are all historic mementoes of the 
past glories of this place well worthy attention. 
Ranged around the hall where they are displayed, 
is a very curious series of majolica vases, drug- 
pots, &c, many of singularly fanciful forms, all of 
rarity and value, but not seeming to be cared for or 
understood by the authorities who have them in 
charge. 

At the opera we were treated to a novelty in the 
way of puffing the prima donna) she had not only 
an armful of wreaths of artificial flowers for head- 
dress, cast upon the stage, but some persons from 



12 



UP THE NILE. 



the upper side boxes showered over the pit a profu- 
sion of gilt cards, and upon each was printed a 
sonnet, full of high-flown compliments to her ability 
as an actress and singer. 

The opera over, ''the house adjourned" to the 
steam-ship; there was scarcely a passenger who had 
not patronised it, and a perfect fleet of small boats 
was waiting at the stairs to convey them to the 
vessel. The effect in the harbour of the light little 
boats with high stem and stern, something like 
gondolas, as they flitted over the dark waters with 
lighted lamps, was very sparkling and pretty; but 
the quarrelling for fares, and confusion produced by 
the boatmen, " marred the poetry of the hour." 

Three days more of lonely sea, and then the coast 
of Egypt comes in view : it is flat, marshy, and un- 
picturesque. It resembles Holland, and is garnished 
with long lines of windmills, after the Dutch manner. 
The minarets of the city of Alexandria shoot up 
from the sandy flat ; and as we get nearer it, the 
double bay, the Pharos, and the high ridge of land 
upon which stands Pompey^s pillar, come in sight. 
Our vessel anchors in the Port of Eunostus, opposite 
the Pasha's palace, an extensive but by no means 
picturesque pile. It is vitiated by an imitation of 
European taste, and is entirely wanting in true 
Asiatic character. The harbour has a busy look, 



VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 



13 



crowded as it is with ships of all nations. Our vessel 
is now boarded by shoals of dirty, clamorous natives, 
all eager for employ in porterage. Such passengers 
as go at once by rail to Cairo, en route to the East, 
get on another steamer, which carries them across 
the harbour to the railway. Those who are for 
Alexandria only, paddle across in the "tubs" of 
boats which are on hire, and so to the Transit 
"Wharf, where conveyances belonging to the hotels 
are in waiting to receive them. The hotels are all 
in the Frank quarter at the opposite side of the 
town ; and there travellers mav have the luxurv of a 
night's sleep in beds unrocked by billows, which they 
will be well able to appreciate after the abominable 
cabin-life of a ship. 



14 



UP THE KILE. 



CHAPTER II. 

ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 

One of the traveller's earliest native acquaintance- 
ships will, in all probability, be formed with the 
donkey-boys, who watch the movements of all new 
comers, and live by the hire of their animals to 
them. Egypt has always been celebrated for its 
breed of donkeys, and they are ridden by persons 
of all classes ; they occupy precisely the same 
position as the horse does among ourselves. They 
are not the ugly, stupid animals we are accustomed 
to see. but are more like mules. Thev are docile 
and sensible, untiring in their steady pace, and 
are spread by hundreds all over Egypt, while horses 
are comparatively rare, indeed they seem to reverse 
places, and to be as seldom seeD as donkeys are in 
London. The Egyptian animal is of higher value 
than ours : the ordinary price paid for them is 
£3 or £i ; the better class fetch from £6 to <£8 ; a 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



15 



fancy value of a very high, kind occasionally attaches 
to extraordinary good animals. 

At the wharves, and the doors of the hotels, a 
perfect mob of donkeys and drivers await the appear- 
ance of the travellers. It is the signal for a wild 
uproar; each vociferates the praises of his animal, 
giving its cognomen, which has been generally taken 
from some American or European celebrity, to 
gratify u fast " travellers, whose whims are studied 
because thev are most easilv fleeced. " Ride, master; 
hawadjee ! effendi! Here good donkey; me good 
boy; you ride!" exclaims one. "He bad boy! — 
here good donkey; me Hassan, donkey Jack Heenan 
— you come here ! " cries a second. "All bad boy ! 
all bad donkey! — here Jim Crow, him good donkey; 
here — ride ! ride ! bawls number three; and soon 
they all merge into one chorus of appeal. They 
hustle each other, thev drag the donkeys round 
you, and in a few minutes you are in the midst 
of a living mass of animals and their drivers, 
all struggling and clamouring in wild confusion. 
You fight your way gradually through, but only to 
discover the good generalship of the group ; for the 
hindermost have dashed round to the front, and by 
the time you have reached what was the last per- 
secutor, they have reached him also, and again you 
are in the centre of a noisy mob. Their persever- 



16 



UP THE NILE. 



ance is wonderful : thev Trill follow you wherever 
you go, and it is impossible to shake them off. 
At last you are convinced that your only chance of 
peace is to obey the somewhat imperious "'Ride, 
ride ! " which is directed at vou with savage looks 
"When vour choice is made, it is necessary to use 
caution in getting into the saddle, for the stirrups 
slip freely beneath it, and it is necessary that they 
be held firmly on one side while the foot is in the 
other. In the close-packed mob you cannot be 
quite sure of really mounting the beast you wish, 
for as you are about to lift yourself into a seat, you 
may be seized by an opposition driver, who twists 
you easily on to his beast, gives a hearty cut behind, 
and away you go, captured as a prize. If your 
temper fail, and you use the only appeal to their 
reason they can feel — the argumentum bacidinum — 
it falls powerless, as they have an ingenious mode of 
bobbing behind their donkeys, and throwing up the 
poor beast's head to receive the blow. They run 
beside their animals during the entire journey, and 
all contrive to pick up a good deal of English, but 
the misapplication of words is sometimes curious 
enough, and their droll remarks are often most 
amusing. As a class, their acquaintance is worth 
cultivating ; they are the only natives who indulge 
in grotesque, and from whom you can obtain a 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



17 



laugh. They have much ready wit in getting out of 
a scrape \ should the donkey you ride prove a bad 
one, and tumble on his knees, in a moment they 
prevent you from pitching over his head, and, drag- 
ging him up again by the bridle, look you solemnly 
in the face and exclaim — " Ah, good donkey ! — 
him better than horse ! " 

Like all seaports, Alexandria possesses a singular 
mixture of shopkeepers of all nations ; and the 
English visitor may find considerable amusement in 
studying his native language as reproduced for his 
especial attraction here. One has boldly announced 
IXGLISS SPOCKEX at his establishment; another, 
in his list of condiments, has "sauces and pickles ;; 
converted by a native painter, who knew nothing of 
words or letters, into SANCIS ANP PINKLIS. 
A hotel-keeper, anxious to protect his patrons from 
the rapacity of the boatmen, declares he can supply 
them with such as "can be recommended upon;^ 
while a drinking-shop for sailors, on the quay, is 
designated over its door, SHOP OF CROC; so 
that Jack might be debarred of his drink, by 
imagining it to be a crockery warehouse. 

The European quarter in Alexandria is creditable 
to the taste which constantly improves it; and 
contrasts favourably with the dirty lethargy which 
permits the other parts of the city to remain as 



18 



UP THE NILE. 



they were in the middle ages. Many of the new 
Streets, the great square, with its trees and foun- 
tains, and tasteful church, and a few private resi- 
dences, would do no discredit to an European city ; 
but all this is strictly confined to this district. 
The native residences are gloomy, and the streets 
neglected • pavements are unknown, and a deep 
channel cuts its way through the middle of the 
road, sometimes to the depth of a couple of feet, 
its foul drainage festering in the sun. The soil 
is light, and, consequently, the foot sinks in soft 
dust when the weather is dry, which is converted 
into liquid mud after heavy rains ; and the rain 
falls occasionally very heavily at Alexandria, and 
throughout the Delta. By a journey in the East 
we may gain some idea of what our own towns 
were in the middle ages — unpaved, unlighted, and 
dangerous with ruts and chasms. The streets are 
generally crammed with people, and lined with 
busy shops, each shop being a small open room, 
unconnected with the house by any door or passage ; 
and closed in at night by folding-doors, secured by 
locks and bolts outside. It is fitted all round with 
shelves or cases for merchandise, and has a floor 
raised about two feet from the ground, which pro- 
jects about the same distance into the roadway, 
and upon which carpets and cushions are placed 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



19 



for customers, who seat themselves on this rude 
divan while they arrange purchases. This is always 
a lengthy business, and expected to be so by buyer 
and seller, who quietly give themselves up to a 
half hour's " haggle " over every trifle. The buyer 
seated, the seller offers a pipe, and sends to the 
nearest coffee-house for cups of the hot beverage. 
Then begins the exaltation of the article to be sold, 
and an extravagant price named, to be succeeded 
by as great a depreciation of price and quality on 
the part of the buyer. Then the subject is dropped, 
pipes and coffee resumed, to be after a time renewed 
as before, until something like a fair medium is 
reached, and the bargain concluded. There is no 
fixed price for anything; hence you cannot, as in 
Europe, ask for an article, pay its value, and leave 
a shop with it in the course of five minutes; it 
is impossible thus to economise time in the East. 
The subdivision of trade, too, is another hindrance. 
If a man wants a turban, he has to go to one 
dealer for the scarlet skull-cap, fez, or tarboosh ; 
to another for the heavy silk tassel : and to a third 
for the shawl which he winds about it, and so 
makes it complete. One man deals in pipe-stems, 
generally made of jasmine or cherry-stick ; a second 
drills them ; a third deals in amber mouth-pieces ; 
a fourth in the red earthen bowls from Siout or 



20 



I'P THE NILE. 



Stainboul; a fifth in leaf-tobacco, which, a sixth 
cuts up for you; and thus half a day may be 
easily consumed in obtaining what half an hour 
would secure to you in London. Each trade is dis- 
tinct, and has its own appointed district, so that 




much time is occupied in visiting shops widely 
asunder. Thus shoemakers are all located in one 
bazaar, braziers in another, tailors by themselyes, 
and so on, through every business. It was so in 
Europe during the middle ages, and one can scarcely 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 21 

help feeling as if thrown back into them when 
visiting Oriental cities. 

The annexed engraving represents the shop of a 
grocer situated in the outskirts of the town : it is in 
reality a store-room, in an arched recess, shut in at 
night by the folding-doors ; when they are thrown 
back on the wall, their inner surface is seen covered 
with Arabic inscriptions, announcing the dealer's 
stock, &c. An awning of canvas hangs above; in 
front of the shop is a wooden counter, and beside 
it a large oil -jar, partly let into the ground, and 
supported by a wooden framework. The proprietor 
tucks his legs under him on his wooden divan, and 
smokes till a customer comes. 

It is impossible to disassociate the Eastern nations 
with the pipe, it seems so completely identified with 
their very existence; yet the use of tobacco was 
not known to them until it had become common to 
Europe, and the rulers of Turkey opposed its intro- 
duction with savage penalties. George Sandys, the 
poet, who travelled in 1610, notes this when telling 
us " they delight in tobacco, which they take through 
reedes that have joyned unto them great heads of 
wood to containe it. I doubt not but lately taught 
them, as brought them by the English : and were 
it not sometimes lookt into (for Morat Bassa not 
long since commanded a pipe to be thrust through 



22 



UP THE NILE. 



the nose of a Turke, and so to be led in derision 
through the citie) no question hut it would prove a 
principall commodity. Nevertheless they will take 
it in corners • and are so ignorant therein, that that 
which in England is not saleable, doth passe here 
amongst them for most excellent." Now, so com- 
pletely has the pipe become a customary solace, 
that there is a Persian proverb which declares that 
ec coffee, without tobacco, is meat without salt." 

The traveller vrho visits the East for the first time 
will do well to rest, after his sea-voyage, at Alexan- 
dria for a few days, and not, after the usual English 
fashion, " push on" for Cairo. By so doing he will 
have a double enjoyment, for there is enough in 
Alexandria to interest and amuse one who has not 
been in an Oriental city before ; and it will not 
%€ spoil " Cairo ; whereas, if Cairo be once seen, he will 
have no patience for an exploration of Alexandria, 
which is effectually spoilt thereby. I have been sur- 
prised, in turning to the pages of my own note-books, 
where I have recorded first impressions, at the vivid 
interest taken on the first view of a place that looks 
fiat enough on a second visit, when better-class scenes 
have been viewed. There is quite enough to occupy 
a few days profitably in Alexandria ; the entire 
change in everything that meets the eye, from what 
it has been accustomed to dwell upon, is an attrac- 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



23 



tion in itself; the quaint and curious costumes 
of the people, the queer shops, and the strongly- 
defined character of the whole place ; as well as the 
busy, crowded bazaars, abound in interest. The 
long lines of camels that slowly pace the streets, giye 
a noyel aspect to them ; they are melancholy, half- 
dried looking animals, of solemn, heavy gait, and 
pace on through the densest crowds, utterly regard- 
less of the people, who haye to look out for them- 
selyes, and hasten into the nearest shop to ayoid the 
blows of heayy stones, or piles of wood, which are 
loosely hung by palm-ropes to their sides, and sway 
about in a dangerous way, sometimes scratching the 
walls on both sides of the street. Eyen in the narrow 
sookhs, or closed bazaars, these beasts are allowed to 
pass, to the great inconyenience of everybody. Their 
drivers sit on eleyated seats upon their humps, and 
swing backwards and forwards with an uneasy 
motion that must be painful to the back, and 
almost as disagreeable as that of a yessel at sea. 
The streets are not easy to pass through, in conse- 
quence of the number of these animals, and of 
donkeys, that are constantly cramming themselves 
in the midst of the dense masses of people. Xow 
and then a carriage dashes into the mob, making it 
fly in all directions ; its approach is announced by a 
running footman, who calls out to clear the way ; 



24 



UP THE NILE. 



after which, if any accident occurs, there is no redress 
to be obtained. 

The most picturesque parts of the town are, as 
usual, the most filthy. Every artist has had 
abundant experience of this fact at home and abroad. 
Thus some of the nastiest alleys of Alexandria 
haye "bits," that, reproduced in pictures, might 
make a painter's fortune. Gleams of sunshine, 
more intense than we northern men eyer see at 
home, dazzle the eye here, almost like the Bude 
light ; and strike across streets of richly-caryed 
houses, lighting up the gaily- coloured dresses of the 
people, to which the dark houses, and the dirt and 
dust everywhere, act as an useful foil; tattered 
cloths, in stripes of prismatic tints, hang across the 
wider streets to keep off the sun. All this is delight- 
ful in pictures, where smells can never be reproduced, 
nor dust, nor flies, nor other vermin that disgust 
strangers, and which no care on their parts can 
preyent them from becoming painfully familiar with. 
Entomology may be a pleasant study when properly 
conducted, but as you are forced to study it in Egypt 
it is simply disgusting. 

Owing to the rough way in which the houses are 
constructed, they have, when new, a half-ruinous 
look. Some of the older ones have elegant examples 
of woodwork in the projecting windows, formed by 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



25 



open lattices of enriched geometric design. The 
bazaars are generally gay with coloured wares ; those 
of the silk-merchants and the shoe-sellers are the 
most picturesque ; the richly-tinted silks, and the 
ranges of bright red and yellow slippers, have a very 
gay effect. The native coffee-shops are dark and 
dirty (as, indeed, are most others) ; the jewellers are 
curious from the style of their designs, as well as the 
cheap character of the finery, which the poorest 
women will insist on wearing in profusion. The 
provision market is well stocked ; and here you may 
occasionally see how hard poor women work as 
porters. Balancing upon their heads a shallow, 
broad, wooden bowl, I have seen them loaded with 
the fore- quarter of an ox, which they carry from the 
slaughter-houses outside the town to the butcher's 
quarter in its interior. They will ordinarily carry fifty 
oke (the oke being about two and three-quarter pounds 
English). The male porters are generally supposed 
to be able to carry about a hundred oke ; they move 
very heavy building stones, by balancing them on 
their backs, bending forward, and carrying the hands 
backward as a support for the lower edge of the 
stone. They generally place a cord over the shoulders, 
like a sling, to secure boxes, &c. 

The antiquities of the town may be soon seen. 
At one time they must have abounded; now they 

c 



26 UP THE NILE. 

are few and fragmentary. In the street on the side 
of the bay, leading from the great square, in a line 
with the Belgian ambassador's, are some few frag- 
ments of Egyptian and Greek sculpture. In the wall 
of the Greek convent some antique stones are built 
up ; and fragments of classic capitals may be occa- 
sionally seen lying about, or built up in the walls of 
houses. At the corner of one street at the back of 
this convent, is a fine but mutilated figure, in red 
basalt, representing a seated Roman, in an ample 
toga. It is of colossal proportions, and was origi- 
nally about nine feet high. The heavy, square 
chair is interesting in its ornamental details, and so 
is the costume of the figure generally. It is sculp- 
tured in a rigid style of art, as if done by an 
Egyptian under Roman supervision ; but there is 
nothing to tell of its history, A more interesting 
sculpture is noticed by Wilkinson as being near this, 
and representing " a Roman general, in black stone, 
with a hieroglyphic inscription at the back/' But 
it is not now there, having been sold to a French 
sculptor, who, as I was informed, had "restored" 
the features with a nez retrousse, and other improve- 
ments, and sold it to some collector. Such anti- 
quities are, however, principally, if not entirely, 
valued by the student only ; general visitors to 
Alexandria mav be content with all that is reallv 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



27 



worth a "sight-seer's visit/' in examining Cleopatra's 
Needle, Pompey's Pillar, and the Catacombs. The 
famous needle is one of two obelisks, which, in 
accordance with ancient Egyptian usage, stood before 
the chief entrance to some public building. They 
have nothing whatever to do with Cleopatra, whose 
name has been attached to them without the slightest 
authority. Wilkinson says that they originally stood 
at Heliopolis, and were brought from thence by 
one of the Caesars, to decorate the gorgeous city of 
Alexandria. They bear upon them the hieroglyphic 
names of Thothmes III. (b.c. 1463-1414), Kemeses 
the Great, and Osirei II. (b.c. 1232), therefore they 
declare their own origin some centuries before 
Cleopatra existed. Sandys, who travelled here in 
1610, calls it " Pharaoh's Needle," so that the name 
may be still more modern. He also notices " another 
lying by, and like it, half buried in rubbidge;" a 
description which shows its long neglect. It is now 
entirely buried in sand, and its existence can only be 
detected by looking down a square hole dug for that 
purpose, when you see a portion of the top of the 
obelisk, with the crowned hawks sculptured on it. 
They are both of red granite, from the quarries at 
Syene, on the extreme bounds of Upper Egypt. 
The upright one (which is about seventy feet high) is 
much broken at the base, and supported on irregular 

c 2 



28 



UP THE NILE. 



stones, roughly wedged together; it has also been 
much injured by long exposure to the sea air, which 
has corroded and destroyed many of the hiero- 
glyphics. Neither of them would be worth the 
trouble of removal to England ; the expense might 
be better incurred on some antique elsewhere. 

Sandys, whom we have just quoted, thus tells his 
tale of Ponipey's Pillar (and of which we may just 
observe that it has no more real connection with 
Pompey than " the Needle " has with Cleopatra) : — 
" Without the walls on the south-west side of the 
eitie, on a little hill stands a column all of one 
stone, set upon a square cube, called by the Arabians, 
Hemadeslaeor, which is, the column of the Arabians. 
They tell a fable, how that one of the Ptolemies 
erected the same in the farthest extent of the haven, 
to defend the citie from naval incursions ; having 
placed a magical glasse of Steele on the top, of 
vertue, if uncovered, to set on fire such ships as 
sailed by. But, subverted by enemies, the glasse 
lost that power; who in this place erected the 
columne. But, by the western Christians, it is 
called the Pillar of Pompey ; and is said to have 
been reared by Caesar, as a memorial of his Pom- 
peyan victory." The Arabic name, which Sandys 
wrote down by ear, is correctly rendered Amood-e'- 
Sowari by Wilkinson, which, he says, is a term that 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



29 



may be "applied to any lofty monument, which 
conveys the idea of a mast" With the assistance 
of Mr. Salt, he read the inscription on it as indica- 
tiye of its erection by Publius, the Prefect of Egypt, 
in honour of the Emperor Diocletian ; and he is of 
opinion that it may haye been erected to record the 
capture of Alexandria by that emperor, a.d. 296. It 
stands on a considerable elevation, is 98 feet high ; 
the shaft being in one enormous block of red 
granite, 73 feet in height, and 29 feet 8 inches in cir- 
cumference. The Corinthian capital is yery rudely 
sculptured; the pedestal on a foundation of rough 
stones, some being portions of sculptured Egyptian 
works ; upon one of them Wilkinson has noted the 
name of Psammiticus (b.c 664 — 610) ; remains of a 
payed area are about it. Some writers haye imagined 
it was originally placed in the centre of an open 
court, perhaps the famed Serapeum, which may haye 
occupied the high land here. 

There is extant a curious narration of a visit made 
to this place by a physician of Bagdad named Abdel- 
ateef, during the reign of Saladin, when the religious 
madness of the European crusaders troubled the 
land. He states that some twenty years before his 
visit, this pillar stood among many others, which 
had been removed and broken to make a breakwater 
in the harbour by the governor of the town. He 



30 



UP THE NILE. 



adds that lie saw the remains of more than four 
hundred columns of the same material lying on the 
margin of the sea, and that there was then remain- 
ing round the great pillar the shattered remains of 
others, as well as some entire. The testimony of 
this well-informed ancient witness is most valuable, 
and he comes to the conclusion that these were the 
remains of the portico where Aristotle taught, and 
the place of Alexander's academy ; where once the 
famed library was located, which gave celebrity to 
the city. 

From this spot one of the best panoramic views of 
Alexandria is obtained. It embraces the entire 
town and its bays on one side, and Lake Mareotis 
on the other. The Mahmoudieh Canal, and the 
railway-station, are on this side ; the cemetery and 
Arab town on the other. The cemetery is extensive 
but unpleasant, a dry assemblage of unsheltered 
graves, covered with tombs of broken plaster or 
ruined sun-dried brick, in which dogs and other 
animals burrow obscenely. The Arab town is a 
conglomerate of mud hovels, mere square cubes, 
with a door as the only means of egress, light, or 
air. Eowis and goats wander about them, and dogs 
watch, on the low roof, the baskets, jars, and 
earthenware that form the sole property of the 
inhabitants. Children in filthy rags or totally naked 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



31 



crawl about in the dust, or mob the passenger for 
u backsheesh." This is a word of the native lan- 
guage the traveller becomes soonest acquainted with 
when he lands in Egypt, and it is his destiny to 
hear it more frequently than any other, and probably 
to be the last he may hear on leaving : it is bawled 
after him at all times and in all places, with a con- 
tinued perseverance, by every one who imagines he 
has a real claim to the gratuity it demands, or who 
thinks he may get something by pestering beggary. 
The demand is rarely accompanied by ordinary 
civility, and should be stolidly resisted by all tra- 
vellers. There is no country in the world where 
this mean mendicancy is so rife, even among men 
whose position might lead you to suppose they 
would be insulted by the offer of cash ; but " Back- 
sheesh, hawadjee," or " Give me something, mer- 
chant ! " seems to be generally considered as the 
proper greeting for a traveller. He is never honoured 
with the title of "Effendi" or " Sahib/ ' which a 
very ordinary grade of Egyptian might obtain. 
The people have no idea of persons travelling except 
to make money by trade, and have too great a 
regard for their own class of gentlemen to degrade 
them by applying their designation to Christians. 

The catacombs are very extensive, they principally 
lie along the western coast, but the cutting for the 



32 



UP THE NILE. 



railway from the bay intersects many. Nearly oppo- 
site the railway-station, the face of the sandy cliffs 
may be seen hollowed into square sepulchres, as the 
earth has fallen or been cut awav. Midway in the 
cliff is a door, leading by a flight of steps into a 
small chapel, which has eyidently been used by the 
early Christians in their sacred rites. The apsidal 




end is decorated with distemper pictures of saints, 
life-size, and within the apse is a conyentional repre- 
sentation of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, with 
Greek descriptive inscriptions. A low stone seat is 
placed round this recess, the dome haying a ribbed 
shell ornament. There is a double row of elongated 
recesses in the walls for the reception of the dead ; 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



33 



they were once closed by slabs of stone, upon which 
their names and funeral inscriptions were placed. 
Other graves are sunk in the floor, and some steep 
stairs lead by an arched o-allery to lower catacombs. 

The journey from Alexandria to Cairo used 
formerly to occupy three days, and was usually 
made by boat on the Mahmoudieh Canal. Now the 
railway does it in six hours. The canal is still used 
by persons who hire boats at Alexandria and carry 
much luggage, intending to stay some time on the 
river. It connects Alexandria with Atfeh, on the 
Rosetta branch of the Xile ; its monotony is perfect; 
the earth dug in making it is thrown up on each side 
in high mounds, effectually barring all view of the 
country ; but if it were seen, it would not be much 
worth looking at, so flat and dull is the prospect, to 
be equalled only in Holland or on the lower Rhine, 
the mouth of the latter river being lost in streams 
over a shallow coast ]ike this of the Nile. The 
construction of this canal was one of the cruelties 
perpetrated on his subjects by Mohamed Ali, who 
u improved ;; his subjects after the most tyrannic 
fashion. Having made up his mind to its forma- 
tion, he obtained forced labour by conscription, 
each village or town supplying its quota of unpaid 
labourers. Of these he obtained more than 250,000 
men : they had come ill-provided with tools, and 

c 3 



34 



UP THE NILE. 



were often compelled to scratch the earth into 
baskets with their hands only. When food, of which 
they brought but a small supply, was exhausted, 
they perished as they worked, and more than 20,000 
of these unfortunates died of hunger and fatigue 
during the few months that this labour lasted. As 
they died they were thrown up in the earthworks on 
each side ; but the labour went on, and in an 
incredibly short space of time the canal, forty miles 
in length, was completed, and named in honour 
of the Sultan. I could never look upon the 
ghastly trench without picturing the horrors of its 
formation. 

The railway to Cairo runs on very level land; 
embankments and a few bridges are all the <e con- 
struction" requisite. It seems hardly natural to 
look from the windows of comfortable first-class 
carriages, rapidly whirling through so primitive a 
country as we pass through. Its flatness is un- 
broken, but it is studded with villages and towns, 
shaded by groups of palm-trees. The soil is most 
luxuriant, and a large quantity of cotton-plants 
attest one branch of its trade. The castor-oil plant 
is also much grown ; while lentils and corn — the 
food of the people — abound. 

There are about 3,000,000 of acres capable of 
cultivation in that part of Lower Egypt popularly 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



35 



known under the name of the Delta; of course 
a great part is neglected, as the consequence of 
poverty and bad government. The ordinary yield 
of wheat is about 15 bushels to the acre ; of barley, 
25 ; of maize, 15 ; of beans, 10. There is no crop 
of oats or of hay. Cotton is largely grown, and 
yields about 200 lbs. to the acre. 

m 

The value of live stock may be taken at the 
following average : — Oxen, from £8 to £10 ; sheep, 
from 8s. to 10.?. ; camels, from .£10 to £15 ; horses, 
from £6 to £8 ; donkeys take the widest range in 
value, and run from £3 or £4 up to £150, accord- 
ing to quality. The average for a good donkey is 
about £6; of course, the very high prices are for 
extraordinary beasts, and are rare instances of 
value. Lord Henry Scott, who has been a constant 
winter visitor on the Nile, is currently reported to 
have given 100 guineas for one very fine animal; 
but I was assured one Egyptian grandee gave £50 
more than that for an extremely good creature of 
the kind. When we reflect on the absurd way in 
which Oriental potentates throw away money to 
gratify their own whims, we may perhaps be in- 
clined to credit what seems a fabulous thing to an 
Englishman. 

The time of transit between Alexandria and 
Cairo, a distance by rail of 162 miles, is about 



36 UP THE NILE. 

six hours (the railway book says five). Passengers 
and their luggage are conveyed free from the 
English steamer to the railway, if the journey to 
Cairo be taken at once without staying at Alex- 
andria, and so the custom-house examination of 
luggage is avoided, of which first-class passengers 
are allowed to carry 336 lbs., and second-class 
168 lbs., all excess being charged at the rate of 
6s. per 112 lbs. The carriages are as nearly as 
possible like the English ones, with the exception 
of having a double roof, to protect their tops from 
the extreme heat of the sun; the upper roof is 
supported above the other by iron pillars, about a 
foot in height, thus allowing a clear draught of air 
to pass between them. 

Time is well kept now by the trains, but it was 
not always so. When the railway was first estab- 
lished, the Pasha was in the habit of using the line 
whenever the idea took his fancy, and so interfering 
with the regular traffic. He was cured of his whim 
by a slight reminder of his own danger. One day 
he felt sleepy, and ordered the train to stop for 
his nap; it did so, and was run into by another 
train, which rudely woke his highness, and con- 
vinced him of the propriety of sleeping elsewhere. 

The railway exhibits none of the characteristic 
neatness and order of an European one. The prin- 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



37 



cipal station is a great, rambling, neglected place, 
with the paper banging from tbe walls, and a 
wretched cafe, badly imitated from the Italian. 
The first station we stopped at was Damanhour, a 
very fair specimen of a town in the Delta. It is 
situated on a gentle rise of sandy ground; the 
houses mere mud hovels, the mosques built of sun- 
dried bricks. The refreshment station is midway, 
at Kafr Zayat, where a branch of the Nile is crossed 
by a noble bridge. The refreshment room is a 
kind of wooden barn, and the eatables all of the 
toughest and coarsest description. The meat was a 
perfect curiosity of dryness, and the fowls might have 
been exhumed from a mummy-pit ; even the dates 
were dry and tasteless. I made my dinner of plain 
boiled rice, a slice of bread and an orange, for 
which five shillings English was charged. The 
Englishman may bid farewell to tender and juicy 
meat after he has set foot in Egypt. 

The high road now runs beside the railway all 
the way to Cairo, and it displays a large amount 
of traffic; there is a continuous succession of per- 
sons carrying goods, or with laden donkeys, or 
strings of camels, tied one behind the other by 
ropes, and generally carrying immense bales of 
cotton. I have counted as many as eighteen camels 
thus fastened together, and pacing, in their heavy, 



38 



UP THE NILE. 



melancholy gait, at the rate of three miles an hour. 
The cotton plant is much cultivated here, and the 
fields in which it grows look very much like a 
French vineyard, the height and general charac- 
teristic of these plants bearing much resemblance to 
each other. The pods were bursting with ripe cotton 
in December when I passed through the fields. 
The castor-oil plant is also cultivated to a great 
extent; the whole fostered by artificial irrigation, 
at which we shall see very many of the labouring 
classes employed, and fully describe in a future 
chapter. The Damietta branch of the Nile is 




crossed near the town of Bena-el-assal ; and after- 
wards, passing the large town of Kalioub, we see no 
others till Cairo comes in sight. Twenty miles on 
this side the city the immense masses of the Pyramids 
of Ghizeh are visible. As you rapidly approach 
the city by the direct line of the rail, they increase 
in grandeur, and the position of Cairo becomes 



ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 



39 



apparent. A rapid sketch from the window of the 
railway carriage/which I here reproduce, will give 
a general idea of this striking approach to the banks 
of the Nile. To the spectator's left is the Mount 
Mokattam and the citadel; half way up the hill 
side is the dome and minarets of the great mosque, 
built by Mohamed Ali. The minarets of the town, 
and the town itself, are nearly hidden in the grove of 
dates and acacias below. The Pyramids of Ghizeh 
are on the opposite bank of the river ; the range 
of hills beyond part Egypt from the deserts of 
Africa. The view therefore comprises the entire 
breadth of the country, the Nile flowing through 
the low land in the centre. 

Arrived at Cairo, the confusion is even worse 
than at starting. A crowd of ragged fellows wait 
to seize the luggage, and in their anxiety to obtain 
it, will scarcely allow passengers egress. Each man 
seizes a single article, and we found ourselves fol- 
lowed by a long line of attendants, many having 
but an umbrella in their hands, or a box of cigars 
balanced on their heads, but all equally expecting 
<c backsheesh. - " The donkey boys, outside the 
station, muster in greater number and more per- 
severing style than at the Alexandrian wharf ; there 
were certainly more than a hundred clamouring for 
custom, and each fighting for preference when we 



40 



UP THE NILE. 



were there. The noise, dust, and confusion exceeded 
anything I had ever witnessed before ; and it was 
a positive relief to trot out of the enclosure into 
the soft, dusty road, and so proceed, in the choking 
heat, toward the Uzbeekeah, where the principal 
European hotels are situated. 



CAIRO AND 



THE PYRAMIDS, 



41 



CHAPTER III. 

CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 

Illustrated volumes might be readily compiled, 
having the picturesque old city of Cairo for their 
subject. How then may we, in a few pages, give 
the reader an idea of its manifold beauties ? The 
life and bustle of its streets, crammed with people 
in gaily coloured costumes ; its shops radiant with 
silks, or abounding in objects of fanciful form and 
quaint enrichment unlike anything made in Europe ; 
its ancient houses, a mass of elaborately carved 
woodwork, showing a wealth of fancy in the old 
artisans which contrasts wondrously with the poverty 
of the newer buildings ; its mosques, grand in their 
general design, and a perfect mine of ornamental 
wealth when studied in detail : these, and the 
thousand-and-one incidents and combinations of 
light and shade that enliven its streets, make its 



42 



UP THE NILE. 



memory like a pleasant dream, rather than a waking 
reality, of the old Arab city. 

In the olden time Oriental exaggeration delighted 
to picture this great capital, as unrivalled in the 
world for its extent and magnificence. Modern 
travellers have long since dispelled the illusion in 
the western world. The plain prose of fact often 
clashes dangerously against the freaks of fancy, 
and sometimes too rudely destroys them. Cairo is 
not without its annoyances, which the traveller will 
soon discover for himself. Dust, dogs, and vermin, 
are to be his familiars while he resides within its 
walls. Its extent may be limited to a circuit of 
about seven miles, in breadth it is barely two. It 
stretches under the Mokattam range of mountain, 
at about a mile distance from the Nile. Its name 
of Cairo is an European corruption of a term of 
honour applied to the city, " El-Kakireh," — ""the 
victorious;" its proper native name is "Masr," 
and so it is still generally termed by its native 
inhabitants. It is the name which the Arabs give 
to the land of Egypt, and which they have bestowed 
on its successive capitals or seats of government, 
whether at Memphis, Fostat, or Cairo. It does not 
appear to have been applied to the latter place 
before the conquest of Egypt by the Osmanlee 
Turks, a.d. 1517. " Since the downfall of the Arab 



cairo And the pyramids. 



43 



empire of Baghdad/' says Lane, in the preface to 
his translation of the Arabian Nights' Entertain- 
ments, " Cairo has been the chief of Arabian cities ; 
its Memlook sultans, introduced into Egypt in their 
youth, naturally adopted, to a great degree, the 
manners of its native inhabitants, which the Osman- 

lee Turks in later davs have but little altered. 

it 

Cairo is the city in Avhich Arabian manners now 
exist in the most refined state/' This, hovrever, 
was written some years ago, and his nephew/ 
Mr. Poole, says "Mr. Lane saw the last of Cairo 
in its integrity." Mohamed Ali forced European 
" reforms " and "improvements " upon his subjects. 
He gave a death-blow to the picturesque character 
of the streets when he widened them, and erected 
ghastly stucco-faced houses on each side the way, as 
ugly as they are in an English country-town, and 
still more fragile. The main avenue, known as 
u the Mooskee/' where the European shopkeepers 
reside, abounds in examples. He curbed the pro- 
jection of the Mast ab ah, or low divan in front of the 
shops, where buyer and seller delighted to smoke 
and drive bargains; and he prohibited the future 
construction of the picturesque Meshreebeyah, or 
overhanging window, generally a mass of elaborate 
wood-carving. Architectural art wanted but this 
governmental interference to give it its death-blow. 



44 



UP THE NILE. 



The gorgeous and beautiful fancy that flowed so 
freely over the entire details of the great public 
buildings of the past, had sunk into bastard imita- 
tion of bad French and Italian decoration in the 
last century, and the distinctive character of the 
national style had gone for ever. It seems to be a 
peculiarity of the human mind, concerning which 
philosophers have as yet propounded no theory — 
that strikingly distinctive, original, national design 
is consequent to semi-civilization, or may even exist 
among barbaric tribes, but never among highly 
civilized peoples. Thus the decorative styles of the 
early and middle ages, even the barbaric enrich- 
ments of the savage nations, have a peculiarity of 
their own, excessively easy of identification, while 
the modern nations at best do no more than copy, 
combine, or adopt, the styles of all ages and nations 
who have gone before them. It is impossible to 
walk through the streets of Cairo without feeling 
that Oriental art has sunk for ever; a tawdry, 
debased, make-shift imitation is all that meets the 
eye, when native art is attempted by the natives ; 
more frequently it is altogether ignored for a still 
more blundering attempt at European styles. 

Cairo appears to have altered little during the last 
two centuries and a half. About that time Sandys 
visited and described it as " representing the forme 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



45 



of a crescent stretching south and north with the 
adjoyning suburbs five Italian miles, in breadth 
scarce one and a halfe where it is the broadest. The 
streets are narrow, and the houses high built ; but 
the private buildings are not worth the mentioning, 
if compared to the publick, of which the mosques 
exceede in magnificency, the stones of many being 
curiously carved without, supported with pillars of 
marble, adorned with what art can devise and their 
religion tollerate." He notes the love of exaggera- 
tion indulged in by the Cairenes when speaking of 
them : " Of these in this citie there is reported to 
be such a number as passes beliefe, so that I list not 
name it" — which is to be regretted, as we might 
then have had a fair idea of this mode of " embel- 
lishing " a city. He adds, " The streets are unpaved, 
and exceedingly dirty after a shower, over which 
many beames are laid athwart on the tops of the 
houses, and covered with mats to shelter them 
from the sunne. Than Cairo no citie can be 
more populous, nor better served with all sorts of 
provision." 

Volney is less complimentary : he says — ec Within 
the walls the streets are winding and narrow, and as 
they are not paved, the crowds of men, camels, 
asses, and dogs, which press against each other raise 
a very disagreeable dust; individuals often water 



46 



UP THE NILE, 



their doors, and to this dust succeeds mud and 
pestiferous exhalations. . . . Its environs are full of 
hills of dust, formed by the rubbish which is accu- 
mulating every day, while the multitude of tanks, 
and the stench of the common sewers, are alike 
offensive to the smell and sight." 

The prevalence of eye-disease is one of the most 
remarkable and disagreeable novelties to a stranger ; 
almost every third person among the lower classes 
has lost an eye, or has them both much diseased. 
It is a most sickening sight, but it is little cared for 
by the people. Mothers have been known to blind 
their children of an eye, to prevent their forced 
servitude as soldiers in after years. Colonel Yyse 
(who has immortalised his name by his researches in 
the Pyramids) says : — " I observed here and at other 
places that the children's eyes were actually devoured 
by flies, without any care taken to prevent it ; 
indeed a woman to whom my janissarv mentioned 
it, laughed at the idea of precaution. I afterwards 
found the Arabs at Ghizeh unaccountably indifferent 
about their sight/' They believe it to be unlucky 
to endeavour to preserve their eyes, or even to wash 
them clean. It is a perfectly common thing to see 
a thick mass of flies surrounding the eves of a child, 
and groups of others at the corners of the mouth, 
nose, and ears. I have seen young men, with 



CAIRO AXD THE PYRAMIDS. 



47 



clusters at their eyes, too indifferent to knock them 
off, and men of mature age take no notice of them. 
Hence flies in Egypt come in swarms to the face 
and eves as to their natural food, spreading disease 
and exciting disgust ; they are a greater pest than 
any untravelled Englishman can imagine, a never- 
ceasing- worry. Indeed the insect annoyances, 
generally, are enough to prevent a second visit to 
Egypt. 

The great square called the Uzbeekeak, the first 
place the stranger will become acquainted with, is 
surrounded by the English and foreign hotels, planted 
round with fine old acacias, and laid out as a garden. 
Its area is low, and it is only protected from inun- 
dation, when the Nile rises, by an encircling canal. 
Sandys describes it in 1610 as "a lake both square 
and large, where the Moores, rowed up and down in 
barges shaded with damasks and stuffes of India, 
accustome to solace themselves in the evening." In 
the great French work on Egypt, the result of the 
combined researches of the savans who accompanied 
the army of Napoleon, is a view of the Uzbeekeah 
under the form of a lake; pleasure-boats cover 
its surface, with groups of persons in them, where 
dusty roads and half-green fields may now be seen. 
The place at present has been converted into a sort 
of Champs Elysee in one part, and a German beer- 



48 



UP THE NILE, 



garden in another, by the Frank inhabitants of the 
district, who endeavour to realise as much as pos- 
sible their own pleasure-places in the only green 
spot in Cairo. The whole life of the city may be 
seen here; and there are few processions that do 
not contrive to pass around it. Professional mounte- 
banks, and persons with trained goats and other 
animals, serpent charmers, &c, make it their ren- 
dezvous. Swings and shows are occasionally on 
the ground, and the performance of the Egyptian 
Punch, which is so exceedingly coarse that you 
would gladly have the entire set of performers well 
horse-whipped at the conclusion. 

The main street leading into the heart of the city, 
and termed the Mooskee, passes from an angle of 
this square, and begins at the Frank end with a 
modern wide roadway between tall European houses, 
from their summits a covering stretch across it 
to give shade. In a short time the road narrows 
to what was its original dimensions, and the crowded 
street becomes almost impassable. A great main 
street meets this again at right angles, and, turning 
to the left, winds round the city towards the railway. 
This great roadway has not been modernised or 
" improved; " hence it is most picturesque. Plate I. 
will give a fair idea of its characteristics. The richly 
carved woodwork of the houses, with their pic- 



cairo And the pyramids. 



49 



turesque overhanging windows, the elegant minarets 
of the Mosque of Sultan Kalaoon (erected a. d. 1287), 
diversified with courses of red brick, and the crowd 
of people in gaily-coloured dresses which fill the 
streets, complete a scene in which no European 
element mingles, and which is singularly striking 
to a stranger. 

Passing to the right the road goes through one 
of the oldest bazaars in Cairo, near one of its most 
interesting mosques ; emerging on a winding way 
through fine old streets, and by sibeels or public 
fountains, of singularly beautiful enrichment, and so 
to the southern gate of the city called the Bab 
Zuweyleh, where we may pause for a few moments 
to note a singular superstition indulged in by the 
Cairenes. They believe that a good spirit makes 
his home behind the heavy iron-bound door which 
is fastened back to the wall, and that he will aid 
all faithful votaries. Sick persons may be some- 
times seen with their aching foreheads resting on its 
hinged side, awaiting supernatural aid. The door is 
covered with metal plates; every crevice between 
them is hammered full of nails, each driven in bv 
a person suffering from headache, who thus believes 
he will charm it away. A great number of human 
teeth are also crammed wherever the fangs can be 
admitted, which is done for relief in toothache. 

D 



50 



UP THE NILE. 



Over the upper part of the door small strings are 
suspended, to which are hung 
packets, as shown in the cut, con- 
sisting of some hair and fragments 
of the dress of such sick persons 
as desire aid ; they are in the form, 
and about the size, of a small pear, 
fastened across by slips of gilt 
paper. There is a beggar who 
watches them, and collects alms. 

This gate was at one time on the confines of the 
town which now stretches much beyond it. The long 
street turning from it to the left at a right angle, 
called Khoursaryeh, and leading up to the citadel, 
is well worth exploration. Nothing can be finer 
than some of the ornamental details of the old 
houses and mosques, or the picturesque combinations 
that everywhere meet the eye. Beneath the walls 
of the citadel the lane turns sharply off into the 
great square called Roomayleah, and a very striking 
view is obtained of that part of the city, with the 
sand hills beyond, and the Pyramids of Ghizeh as 
a boundary to the prospect. The chief feature in 
the citadel is the new mosque built by the late 
viceroy, Mohamed Ali. It is a sumptuous structure 
of veined alabaster, and its vast dome, when lighted 
by the rings of lamps suspended beneath, has a 




CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



51 



singularly grand effect. The palace near it is a 
very simple building with nothing to reward a visit. 
The decorations are all in bad taste, and the pictures 
of sea-fights, which are on the walls, ludicrous as 
works of art. From the terrace beside it one of 
the finest views of the city and surrounding country 
is obtained, embracing the entire valley of the Nile 
from the fork of the Delta to Sakkara. The extreme 
greenness of the irrigated land contrasts most forcibly 
with the glaring sands that bound it, and the lime- 
stone mountains forming the Libyan range. The 
long line of pyramids from Ghizeh to Sakkara is a 
striking adjunct to the whole. 

The Mosque of Sultan Tayloon, in the square below, 
is the most ancient in Cairo; it was built a.d. 879, 
and, says Wilkinson, " if not remarkable for beauty, 
is a monument of the highest interest in archi- 
tecture, as it proves the existence of the pointed 
arch about three hundred years before its introduc- 
tion into England, where that style of building 
was not in common use until the beginning of 1200, 
and was scarcely known before the year 1170." 
Near it is the far-famed Mosque of Sultan Hassan, 
a noble old work now in a state of lamentable 
neglect. It was constructed from the outer casing- 
stones of the Great Pyramid of Ghizeh in the early 
part of the fourteenth century, and abounds with 

d 2 



52 



UP THE NILE. 



the most enriched details of ornament within and 
without, not the least remarkable of its fittings 
being the rows of coloured glass lamps hanging 
froni its walls, of Syrian manufacture, bearing the 
sultan^ s name amid o'lowin°; coloured decoration : 
they are some of the finest early glass-work of 
their kind; but many are broken, and others 
hanging unsafely from half-corroded chains. Yet 
this mosque has always been the boast of Cairn, 
and popular belief led to the acceptance of the 
legend, that the sultan cut off the hand of the 
architect, that he might never be enabled to build 
its rival. It was considered so sacred that a 
Christian was not allowed to pass before it in the 
olden time ; now there is no difficulty in seeing 
the interior of any in Cairo. Frankish gold has 
overridden religious prejudice ; and the greediness 
with which the custodians look for their gratuities 
sometimes exceeds the bounds of decency ; thus, my 
guide, on my visit to the Mosque of Mohamed Ali, 
was severely beaten by the door-keepers, because 
I had not given what they thought enough. 

Times are greatly altered since Belzoni's days, 
when it was dangerous for an European to walk 
in the streets. Upon his first visit, in 1815, on 
passing a soldier, he received a blow from him, 
which cut off a piece of the flesh of his leg, and 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 53 

disabled him for thirty days. He was coollr told 
by Mohamed Ali, " Such accidents could not be 
avoided where there were troops/- On another 
occasion he Tras robbed by soldiers in the Uzbee- 
keah ; and narrowly escaped being shot afterwards 
for unintentionally stopping the Tray in a crovrded 
street. The mosques were quite closed against 
men of other faiths ; now " infidels ;; are allowed to 
enter them — an act that would hare made a horrible 
impression fifty years ago \ but which the greed 
for backsheesh has made more than tolerable. 
It is amusing to see Oriental apathy change to 
wolfish avidity when the infidel desires to enter 
their holy places, and the sleepy custodians Trake 
up to the pleasant jingle of piastres. 

TTe OTre our safety in travel, here and on the 
river, to the vigour of the late Pasha, and the 
gradual encroachments he made on native preju- 
dices. Formerly, persons were insulted or ill-treated 
in journeying ; but now the orders from sultan and 
viceroy are so strict, that travelling is perfectly 
safe, unless native prejudices be wantonly aroused. 

The different traders in Cairo have each their 
proper quarter of the city apportioned to them; 
I therefore need not caution the stranger to avoid 
that of the braziers : the din is insufferable. The 
Jews' quarter is offensive in another way. Here, 



54 UP THE NILE. 

in the midst of narrow alleys, where two persons 
can scarcely pass, live "the chosen people/' in 
dirt and squalor, busily working on the gold and 
silver they have always loved almost beyond their 
own souls. The bazaars are, in general, most 
amusing, from the abundance of wares exhibited, 
and the gay aspect of the scene. One of the best is 
termed the Khan Khaleel; its picturesque entry is 
shown in Plate II. It was completed at the com- 
mencement of the fourteenth century, and bears 
traces of its fine original character. The arch of 
entrance is closed at night by a wooden gate : the 
chain is dropped, and the second, which appears 
in the central ring, passed across the door. In this 
way many of the streets are closed. 

The effect of Cairo at night is singularly gloomy. 
There are no public lights ; and a large shop or 
coffee-house may be lit by a single oil- 
lamp, consisting of a hanging glass, in 
which floats a single cotton wick, lighted 
as if only designed to make " darkness 
visible." On a level with the rim of the 
glass is a pyramidal wooden cover, per- 
forated with a few air-holes. Sometimes 
one such lamp is hung in the centre of a bazaar, diffus- 
ing as much illumination as an ordinary European 
night-light in a sick room. All persons are obliged 





r ~ 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



55 



by law to carry lights with them if they walk 
out after dark, and are liable to detention as sus- 
picious characters should they be caught infringing 
it. Carriages are accompanied by 
running footmen, who bear an open 
fire-pot, filled with resinous wood, 
at the top of a pole; the pointed 
end is stuck in the ground while 
they wait for their masters outside 
the door ; the staff is thrown, across 
the shoulder as thev fly beside the 
carriage. It is called a Meshal, and 
in its nature is identical with the 
cresset, which in former times was 
carried by the marching watch of 
London, and alluded to by Shakespeare under that 
name in the speech he gives to Owen Glendower 
{Henry IV. Part I., Act iii. Sc. 1) : — 

" At my nativity, 
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, 
Of burning cressets." 

Later at night, when man has deserted the 
streets, the dogs have the town to themselves. 
It is curious, in the stillness of the night, to listen 
to their uproar, — the barking and howling of the 
nearest commingling with the universal noise that 
spreads over the entire city, occasionally heightened 




56 



UP THE NILE. 



by a fiercer fray. They have parcelled the town 
into districts, where each dog ranges from birth 
to death, and woe to him if he oyersteps the 
boundary ; all the others set upon him, and will 
worn 1- him to death if he cannot fly within his 
own precinct, where none will dare to follow him. 
I saw one dog brought by a servant into a new 
quarter, and which he had the utmost difficulty in 
saying from the fury of the legitimate inhabitants. 
The street-dogs are generally poor, diseased, half- 
staryed brutes, exciting commiseration rather than 
fear. They usually shun the natiye Egyptian, 
who belieyes himself contaminated by their touch. 
They know the European by his dress, and will 
bark and snarl occasionally, to the delight of "the 
true belieyer f* but generally ayoid mankind, or 
follow at a respectful distance on the chance 
of charity, sometimes mercifully awarded them. I 
haye seen persons buy bread to break up and cast 
among them. Children and young persons wantonly 
ill-treat them, occasionally amusing themselyes by 
kicking them almost into insensibility. 

A pleasant hour may be spent in an excursion 
to Shoubra, a palace of the Pasha's about three 
miles from Cairo, but connected therewith by an 
avenue shaded with magnificent sycamore and acacia 
trees, that interlace their branches over the wide 



CAIRO AXD THE PYRAMIDS. 



57 



road, forming a green bower the whole way. To 
the left the Nile is seen, and to the right the fertile 
fields over which the railway passes. The gardens 
were laid out by an English gardener, and are very 
picturesque ; the fountains and kiosks are, however, 
more remarkable than the flowers or trees. From 
an eminence, surmounted by a pretty pavilion, a 
fine view of the country is obtained. The whole 
thing, including this noble avenue, is the work of the 
late Mohamed Ali, and the trees are little more than 
forty years old. Belzoni first visited Egypt to 
construct an hydraulic machine for the Pasha at this 
place, and its failure induced him to turn his atten- 
tion to those antiquarian researches which have 
made him famous. 

About three miles to the south of Cairo is Eostat, 
or Old Cairo, a town which takes precedence in point 
of antiquity. Here is still to be seen the strong 
Roman -built walls of the station known as Egyptian 
Babylon, first founded by a colony of captives taken 
by Sesostris, according to Diodorus ; but which 
Wilkinson inclines to imagine a free settlement of 
Babylonians at a later era. Strabo notes it as one 
of the three places where the Roman legions then 
forming the Egyptian garrison were quartered. It 
is a place still of great interest, inasmuch as it is 
probably unique as an example of an isolated town, 

d 3 



58 



UP THE NILE. 



still enclosed with its Roman walls, and crowded 
with densely packed streets. It gives a perfect idea 
of what such places were in our own country and 
elsewhere, as regards their general arrangement. 
The walls are built of small squared stones, with 
bonding courses of red tile, in the style so invariably 
adopted by the Romans, and are nearly ten feet 
in thickness : half-round towers project boldly from 
them at different places, and two of great size flank 
the principal gate on the south side. This gate, now 
buried to the crown of the arch, must have had a 
most imposing effect in its pristine state ; it has been 
much injured : at one end of the triangular pedi- 
ment, above, is an eagle in relief. The only entrance 
to the town at present is by a small postern-gate at 
the side, not large enough to admit any carriage, 
but only a rider : the lanes within are narrow and 
tortuous, little more than seven feet wide ; the 
houses very high, many with " chambers on the 
wall," as in the days of the Apostles. It is now 
inhabited by a Coptic community, and very many 
other Christians. The Greek convent in the centre 
is constructed over an ancient vault, traditionally 
reported to have been the chamber of the Virgin 
Mary when she sojourned in Egypt. It is certainly 
very old, and may be of late Roman work ; but we 
shall find these traditions so varied that it wants 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



59 



large faith, or credulity, to depend on any. At 
some short distance from Cairo they show the tree 
tinder which the Holy Family rested ; yet at Siout, 
two hundred and seventy-four miles higher up the 
river, they claim to have afforded shelter to them 
during their stay in the land. In fact, from the 
days of the Empress Helena (who was particularly 
lucky in discovering everything she wanted), there 
has been no lack of localities or relics to gratify 
believers in them. 

In the vear 1250, the crusaders under the sainted 
King Louis of France, besieged Babylon without 
success. The Sieur de Joinville, who has left a most 
interesting account of his own career with the army, 
describes the terror which assailed them when the 
famed " Greek fire " was cast towards the besiegers, 
from the walls of the town. It is the Babylon of 
mediaeval romance ; and the rich cloth formed of 
gold and silver threads and silk, termed baudekyn, 
or " cloth of Baldeck/ ; was made here. It was 
enriched with figures of trees, birds, and flowers, 
in true Eastern style, and highly valued as material 
for the dresses of royal and noble personages. 

The sultan of Babylon, who plays so conspicuous 
a part in the old romances, was in 1422 the chief of 
the Memlooks, and resident in the citadel of Cairo. 
In the Bodleian library, at Oxford, is a very curious 



60 



UP THE NILE. 



manuscript survey of Egypt and Syria, made by Sir 
Gilbert de Lannoy, in 1422, who was sent by our 
Henry V. to ascertain the state of that country, 
with a view to a crusade. He says, "throughout 
the country of Egypt, Syria, and Sayette, there is 
usually but one lord, a sultan of Babilon, who has 
the supreme command." The last of these Mem- 
look sultans was Touman Bey, who was hung at the 
Great Gate called Bab Zuweyleh, at Cairo, in 1517, 
by Sultan Selim, who then made conquest of 

Egypt* 

Babylon is now much encroached on hy sand : 
on the south it has hidden the wall at least fourteen 
feet j on the north, it forms a high hill, completely 
overlooking and commanding the town. In the 
early part of the seventh century it was besieged 
by the conqueror of Egypt, the Arab Ameer, who 
was before it for seven months, and after its fall 
founded Fostat and New Cairo. The mosque at 
Fostat, just outside the Roman wall, which bears 
his name, is an early work, but not of his era : 
it presents some curious examples of early pointed 
arches. Fostat may be described as a line of 
streets and garden-houses between the old fortress 
and the river. At the end of the Island of 
Rhoda, is the ferry to Ghizeh, and the ancient 
Kilometer, used for so many centuries to perform 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



61 



tlie important office of ascertaining the daily rise of 
the river during the inundation. 

The Nilometer may be described as an open, 
square, well-like chamber of stone, which, at one 
time, was covered by a dome. It has a Cufic 
inscription round the upper part, and arched 
recesses below. The researches of Wilkinson failed 




to discover a date on any part; the ^inscription^ 
he says, " is not without its interest for architectural 
inquiry, though devoid of a date, since the style 
of the Cufic is evidently of an early period, corre- 
sponding to that used at the time of its reputed 
erection — the middle cf the ninth century — and 
as the arches are all pointed, we have here another 



62 



UP THE NILE. 



proof of the early use of that form of arch in 
Saracenic buildings." In the centre is a pillar 
divided into cubits and digits, a staircase on one 
side leading to the water which covers a deposit 
of about six feet of mud. When David Roberts 
visited this place, but a few years since, he was 
obliged to watch an opportunity, leap the low wall, 
and hurriedly complete his sketch of the interior, 
" at the risk of being drowned in the well of the 
Nilometer, or shot by the sentinel," says the writer 
of the descriptive letter-press accompanying the 
views made for his great work on Egypt and the 
Holy Land. At that time the large building beside 
it was used as a powder-magazine, and all access 
denied to strangers. The view I engrave was done 
without any difficulty ; I was admitted at once, 
and allowed to draw what I pleased. The number 
of English travellers now, and the stringent rules 
for their protection issued from the government, 
combined with the certainty of "backsheesh" 
for civilities rendered, has altered the whole Nile 
district from Cairo to Assouan. 

In crossing the river, the picturesque houses of 
Ghizeh are seen upon the high mud-bank opposite. 
Ghizeh is celebrated for its egg-hatching by artificial 
means, which Wilkinson savs u has been continued 
from the time of the Pharaohs to the present day." 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



63 



As this process is well known in London,, and lias 
been made the subject of public exhibition there, the 
visitor will now scarcely lose time at this " sight/' 
but proceed across the plain to the Pyramids, 
that stand in unobstructed view before him as 
soon as he leaves the town. The stranger will now 
have his first experience of the deceptive character 
of distances in Egypt. The air is so pure, and the 
plain so level, that they do not appear two miles 
off, but the distance is more than five, though that 
is partly occasioned by a deviating road, rendered 
still longer when the waters are out, and the dykes 
filled, that you now ride into and out of dryshod : 
it then makes the journey one of ten miles. The 
plain is wondrously fertile, and is said to be as 
productive as the land in volcanic districts. "When 
I passed through it in April the corn was ripening, 
and the beans fit for gathering, as with us in July. 
Flocks and herds were grazing in large quantities, 
watched by shepherds, who with their families 
inhabited the low broad-spread Arab tent, or lived 
within a sort of open screen of bamboo stems, just 
sufficient to shelter them from the wind. All 
ceased work, or aroused their native indolence, to 
run across fields and intercept the stranger with 
a request for " backsheesh, ;; sometimes assuming 
a sort of threatened demand, which all strangers 



64 



UP THE NILE. 



cannot too soon learn to steadfastly oppose wherever 
they go, except to legitimate guides. 

Certainly tlie popular idea is that the Pyramids 
are built on the plain of the Nile ; they in reality 
are based on a plateau of rock, one hundred and 
fifty feet in height, a lower stratum of the great 
Libyan range behind them. Colonel Howard Vyse, 
whose researches here have done so much for science, 
observes : — " The whole plain to the foot of the 
mountains, from Sakkara to Abou Reche, seems 
to have been formerly under cultivation, but either 
from neglect of the ancient canals, or from other 
causes, it is now covered with about nine feet of 
sand. The whole desert has evidently encroached 
upon the valley of Egypt, particularly from the 
westward, and there was probably little or no sand 
on the mountains at Ghizeh, nor upon the plain 
beneath, when the Pyramids were erected." 

The Pyramid of Cheops, the most northern of 
the group, is that usually ascended by travellers. 
It has been denuded of the triangular casing stones, 
so that its exterior presents a vast series of broken 
steps. They are about four feet high, and up these 
the visitor must clamber who would reach the 
summit, and obtain a view very little better than 
that from the plain, and totally inferior to one 
seen from the citadel at Cairo. Should he require 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



65 



it, or should lie not have sufficient determina- 
tion to resist it, lie may obtain the assistance 
of the crowds of Arabs who infest the place; but 
let him remember, that if he once gives himself 
to their guidance, he must be content to be placed, 
nolens volens, upon the top. While some drag at 
the arms in front, others push up behind, and lift 
the legs to successive stones. Kicking, struggling, 
or irate words are utterly useless, up you are sure to 
go ; and should any rings be worn on the hands, you 
are likely to miss them when you reach the summit, 
as they have an ingenious knack in withdrawing 
them during the confusion ; for all is accompanied 
by a clamour and excitement unknown in the " cold 
north." 

"The manner in which these immense buildings 
were constructed, and the means by which the vast 
blocks of almost impenetrable stone were worked and 
placed at different heights with critical exactness, 
are even now unknown. For instance, the blocks 
of granite composing the floor of the king's chamber 
in the Great Pyramid of Ghizeh, are laid with such 
precision that not only are the joints scarcely 
perceptible, but the under faces and edges of the 
stones are so sharp and polished that it is impossible 
to detect how they were lifted, and placed in contact 
with each other, as no marks of force or of any 



66 



UP THE NILE. 



purchase having been applied can be perceived, so 
that some persons imagine that it was not until after 
they had been fixed in their respective places that 
the outward surface of the stones was smoothed 
down and finished. The blocks placed perpendicu- 
larly to the incline in the several passages have also 
the finest joints, and scarcely any settlings or imper- 
fections appear. The masonry in the king's chamber, 
the casing- stones, and those in the foundation and 
at the base are, perhaps, unrivalled." — (Col. Vyse.) 

The chambers of the interior are reached through 
long, low, narrow passages, leading from the entrance 
— a dismal aperture, about three feet high. Down 
this stifling shaft the visitor is crammed, with Arabs, 
who effectually stop the little air that might follow 
him, and are sometimes clamorous for gratuities 
when inside, and impede his exit. There is scarcely 
anything to repay an ordinary visitor for the fatigue 
and discomfort of the exploration. The name of 
Cheops, or Suphis, has been painted upon some 
of the stones before they were built into the walls 
by the masons. The date of 2,450 years before 
Christ has been named by Egyptian scholars as the 
period of his reign. In looking upon the Pyramids, 
we look upon antiquities the most profound the world 
can show : they were ancient to the nations we con- 
sider the most ancient. Joseph, Moses, and other 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



67 




characters of the Bible, must, when living, hare looked 
upon them ; Herodotus, the father of history, con- 
templated them as works of a long-forgotten race. 

The late Dr. Henry Abbott, of Cairo, whose fine 
collection of antiquities prin- 
cipally came from the district 
of the Pyramids (and is now 
in the New York Historical 
Museum), had a remarkable 
signet-ring, of which the ac- 
companying engraving is a re- 
presentation. It bore, among 
other hieroglyphics, the name 
of Cheops. The impression, 
of the exact size of the original, is given be- 
neath the ring. The style of the hieroglyphics 
is in perfect accordance with those in the tombs 
about the Great Pyramid, and those within the 
oval comprise the name of the Pharaoh of whom this 
pyramid was the tomb. The details are minutely 
accurate, and beautifully executed. The ring is of 
the finest gold, weighing nearly three sovereigns. 
This remarkable antique is said to have been found 
at Ghizeh, in a tomb near that excavation of Colonel 
Vyse, called u Campbell's Tomb," in compliment 
to Colonel Campbell, the British consul-general at 
the time when Vyse was busied at the place. 




68 



UP THE NILE. 



Above the entrance to the Great Pyramid the 
visitor will note upon one of the two large stones — 
which rest against each other, thus, A alL d form 
a sort of pediment — a square tablet, closely packed 
with eleven lines of hieroglyphics. He will find 
no representation of this in any published view, 
and may be surprised to hear it is a modern fabri- 
cation. To thus vitiate one of the most venerable 
monuments in the world, by the construction of 
a foolish record, is deserving of the utmost con- 
demnation. Its " grand no-meaning" and true 
character may be best detailed in the words of 
Lord Nugent : — " In one corner of this pediment, 
Professor Lepsius has, if it may be allowed to say 
so of so learned and able a man, with a somewhat 
questionable taste, carved out a tablet, and adorned 
it with a long, and doubtless very correct, hiero- 
glyphic inscription, in honour of his sovereign, King 
William of Prussia, and of Victoria, Queen of 
England — strikingly inappropriate in that place — 
an anachronism both in character and composition 
— illegible to the great mass of mankind — and, 
to the few learned who can read it, a counterfeit, 
proclaiming itself to be such — a line added to the 
Iliad in commemoration of Waterloo:" in short, 
a mischievous absurdity. 

In these days of quick and easy travelling, we 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 



69 



can scarcely appreciate the difficulties which beset 
the men whey, even at the commencement of our 
century, exerted themselves in penetrating the 
secret of the Pyramids. Chief among them was 
Belzoni; and it is to his acumen and indomitable 
perseverance that we owe the means of entering 
the second pyramid, supposed, from the names found 
on its stones, to have been constructed by Shafre 
or Cephres, who lived, and probably shared the 
throne, with Cheops. The apex of this pyramid is 
interesting, from the circumstance of the casing 
stones remaining : they still retain a polish on 
their surface, and speak of the simple beauty 
which must have been the characteristic of these 
solemnly-grand old monuments in their pristine 
condition. 

Persons are occasionally found foolish enough to 
ascend this pyramid, a feat both difficult and 
dangerous, as the casing-stones of the upper part 
project considerably; and in descending appear to 
overshoot the base, that cannot be detected by 
the eye, as the legs are moved about in search of a 
foothold in the rough stone below, and nothing seen 
but the sands far beneath. A party of young officers, 
en route for India, had ascended a short while 
before I visited the place, the Arabs having joined 
and aided them. Some of the natives are willing to 



70 UP THE NILE. 

make the ascent, but only on exorbitant terms. 
They obtained nearly ten pounds on this occasion : 
so that the adventure literally belongs only to those 
who have " more money than wit." 

The third pyramid, not more than half the size 
of the others, was by the ancients considered the 
most elegant, inasmuch as it was cased with polished 
Syenite granite, the rest being only constructed of 
blocks from the limestone quarries at Masarah, 
on the Arabian side of the river. The ancients 
spoke of this as the mausoleum of Menes, or 
Mycerinus, and when it was opened by Colonel 
Vyse, a wooden coffin was found in a sarcophagus 
having that name upon it. The sarcophagus was 
sent to England by sea, but wrecked on the way. 
The fragments of this coffin, and portions of a 
body found in the passage to the funeral chamber, 
and supposed to be that of the king, now form a 
ghastly group of fragments in our British Museum. 

Dr. Abbott, in the collection we 
have alluded to, had a curious 
necklace and ear-rings of gold, 
marked with the hieroglyphic name 
of this king. One of the ear-rings 
is here engraved. They were found 
in a jar at Dendera, but as the Egyptian princes 
traced their descent from him, and he was the fabu- 




CAIRO AXD THE PYRAMIDS. 



71 



Ions founder of the monarchy, they may have been 
memorial works of a much later period, unless, in- 
deed, as Sharpe in his " Chronology" observes, on 
the authority of Manetho, the name is that of My- 
chera or Nitocris, whom the old historian expressly 
says built this pyramid, and governed Memphis as 
the widow of Thothmes II., about 1460 years before 
Christ. This would make a difference of more 
than a thousand years in the age of the building, 
and probably its smaller size and superior finish may 
warrant the assumption of its being the least ancient 
of the three. It must be borne in mind that early 
Egyptian chronology is by no means fixed, nor the 
hieroglyphic inscriptions so determinedly clear as 
savans make them appear on paper : there is a vast 
deal of clever guessing in all, which the uninitiated 
are expected to take as oracular. 

Around the great pyramids are many smaller 
pyramidal tombs, in a greater or less state of dilapi- 
dation. Immediately in front of that of Cheops, 
are three much smaller, the central one, according 
to Herodotus, being that of his daughter. In the 
rocky ground are dug the tombs of many unknown 
persons ; they are generally deep pits. The largest 
and most remarkable is that called " Campbell's 
Tomb/' immediately behind the Sphinx. Approach- 
ing its edge, you look down into a deep well, or 



72 



IT THE XILE. 



rather a large square pit, more than fifty feet in 
depth ; and twenty-six feet across the opening, and 
see the ponderous sarcophagus of black basalt; 
still remaining in its original position, Near it is 
another tomb of equally grand proportion; with 
walls of polished granite and alabaster, recently 
opened by M. Mariette. To the west is one par- 
ticularly interesting tomb, its walls covered with 
delicate sculptures; still freshly coloured, and de- 
lineating those scenes in the public and domestic 
lives of the old Egyptians which have made them 
such valuable exponents of long-past and unrecorded 
manners. It bears the same royal name as is 
found in the Great Pyramid; and is supposed to 
be that of some officer of the court. Others belonged 
to priests and private individuals. A long day will 
quickly pass, and may be well spent, in examining 
the relics upon this square mile of desert sand. 

The Sphiux is a monument so unique in the 
world, that it may be reserved as the crowning 
glory of the clay. Its solemn; upturned face; though 
so rudely injured by the savage hand of man ; still 
looks in calm maiestv toward the rising sun. The 
features are Nubian, and the traces of the brown- 
red colour which once covered them still remain. 
The excavations show that this was originally a 
colossal figure of a sedent human-headed lion, wear- 



CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS, 



73 



ing a royal crown with the sacred asp in front. 

Fragments of a plaited beard were found in the sands 

below it, which does away with its once conceived 

feminine character. It is entirely cut from the solid 

%i 

rock, except in a few places where that was defective ; 




the cap and the fore legs have, therefore, been added 
in hewn stone. Mr. Salt and Sign or Caviglia exca- 
vated the upper portion and the entire front of the 
figure ; and Colonel Howard Yyse continued the 
labour, which satisfactorily proved that the Sphinx 

E 



74 



UP THE NILS. 



had a sacred character, a Greek inscription upon 
one of its paws alluding to it as the guardian of 
the country and its king; it is signed " Arrianos/ 3 
and thus restored and translated by Dr. Young : — 

" Thy form stupendous here the gods have placed, 
Sparing each spot of harvest-bearing land ; 

And ^ith this mighty work of art have graced 
A rocky isle encumbered once with sand : 
And near the Pyramids have bid thee stand : 

Not that fierce Sphinx that Thebes erewhile laid waste, 
But great Latona's servant, mild and bland; 

"Watching that prince beloved, who fills the throne 

Of Egypt's plains, and calls the Nile his own. 

That heavenly monarch 'who his foes defies), 

Like Vulcan powerful (and like Pallas wise). 

Between its paws the Sphinx originally supported 
a kind of small temple or sanctuary : the walls 
consisted of three sculptured tablets; the central 
one ; of granite. which rested against the breast, 
depicted Thothmes IV. (b.c 1-110) making an offer- 
ing to the Sphinx; the side ones ; of limestone, 
were sculptured with similar representations, the 
king being Eameses the Great (b.c 1311). An 
enclosure was in front of this temple, bounded by a 
low wall, crossing from each paw, and including an 
extent of fifty feet between it and the inner wall of 
the sanctuary, with a sacrificial altar in front of the 
step leading into it, as shown in the engraving. 



CAIEO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 75 

In front of all this was a wide paved area, from 
which two grand flights of stairs ascended, leading 
to a paved roadway, between crude brick walls, 
which protected it from the desert sand, and led 
toward the plain. Xothing could be grander than 
the conception and execution of this approach to 
the Sphinx, by a broad excavated way, that brought 
the visitor to a level with the breast of the figure, 
and gave him a full view of the altar and temple 
below. As he descended the gigantic creature 
would appear to rise in its immensity, until he was 
on a level with its foot. The sand drifts so fast 
from the desert now, that the space once excavated 
is again entirely filled ; the outline of the back 
can only be seen, but the solemn grandeur of the 
"Father of terror," as the Arabs call it, is not 
effaceable. Thousands of years have rolled over 
that awful head, and nothing short of the worldis 
destruction can fairly destroy it; it is the most 
solemn monument the world has to show. But 
what I would say has been better expressed in 
the following eloquent words of the author of 
"Eothen:" — "Laugh and mock as you will at the 
worship of stone idols, but mark ye this, ye breakers 
of images, that in one regard the stone idol bears 
awful semblance of Deity — unchangefulness in the 
midst of change — the same seeming will and intent 

e 2 



76 



UP THE NILE. 



for ever and ever inexorable ! Upon ancient dynas- 
ties of Ethiopian and Egyptian kings — upon Greek 
and Roman, upon Arab and Ottoman conquerors — 
upon Napoleon dreaming of an eastern empire — upon 
battle and pestilence — upon the ceaseless misery of 
the Egyptian race — upon keen-eyed travellers — 
Herodotus yesterday and Warburton to-day — upon 
all and more this unworldly Sphinx has watched, and 
watched like a Providence with the same earnest 
eyes, and the same sad, tranquil mien. And we, we 
shall die, and Islam will wither away, and the 
Englishman, straining far to hold his loved India, 
will plant a firm foot on the banks of the Nile, and 
sit in the seats of the faithful, and still that sleepless 
rock will lie watching and watching the works of 
the new, busy race, with those same sad, earnest 
eyes, and the same tranquil mien everlasting. You 
dare not mock at the Sphinx" 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



77 



CHAPTER IV. 

BOULAK TO MINIEH. 

Boulak is the port of Cairo, distant about a mile 
from that city, and presenting the usual aspect of a 
waterside town. There is a busy line of boat 
builders constantly occupied on its bank ; it 
abounds with warehouses and granaries ; its streets 
and houses are generally picturesque, but dirty and 
old. The one important feature to a stranger, is 
the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, recently 
founded by the Pasha, in a commodious house 
overlooking the Nile. It has been placed under 
the curatorship of M. Mariette, who first visited 
Egypt in the service of the Louvre. The largest 
portion of the collection was purchased at once 
from M. Huber, the late Consul- General for Austria, 
who had been long engaged in forming it, with a 
fastidious taste that admitted into the series none 



78 



UP THE NILE. 



but fine examples. It is, consequently, a remark- 
ably excellent introduction to the arts practised by 
the ancient Egyptians ; and to the future studies 
of such as ascend the river to become familiar with 
the astounding works of that great people. It 
may suffice to say, that nothing, from a scarabeus 
to a granite sarcophagus, is wanting, to carry the 
student through the various phases fine art assumed 
three thousand years ago. The great feature of 
the collection is the recent addition of gold orna- 
ments discovered by accident at Gournou (Thebes), 
by some boys, in ground unmarked by any tomb ; 
the fine mummies upon which they were placed 
passed into the hands of the Pasha of Keneh, 
who was induced to part with them to the Viceroy's 
museum. They were unwrapped, and more than 
thirty-five pounds' weight of gold ornaments found 
upon them. The series of necklaces, with figures 
of jackals in gold, and the golden bracelets, en- 
riched bv enamel colours, are extraordinary works 
of art, as well as of great intrinsic value : one of 
them is very remarkable, having the sacred hawk 
for its central ornament, holding the emblem of 
eternal life; its surface is brilliantly coloured in 
cloissonne enamels. A hatchet of gold, with a 
hunting scene embossed on the blade ; a mirror, 
with a heavy lotus-shaped handle of gold ; and a 



BOULAK TO MINIBH. 79 

large variety of minor decorations for the person, 
crowd this unrivalled case of antiquities. Two 
small models of funeral boats, with the rowers, all 
formed of silver, are even more precious in the 
eyes of the Egyptian student, from their extreme 
rarity. The room is appropriately decorated, after 
the style of the tombs at Beni Hassan, and the 
whole arrangement honourable to the Viceroy and his 
curator ; as he is still prosecuting new researches, 
and has prohibited wanton mischief to monuments, 
or the exportation of antiquities, it promises an 
useful guardianship in future over these interesting 
remains. 

At this place we shall enter our boat, and com- 
mence our exploration of the river. The kind of 
boat used by travellers is termed a dahabeah ; the 
cut exhibits its general form, which much resembles 
our old London civic barges. It is constructed to 
draw verv little water, as the Nile is verv low in 
winter, when travellers generally go upon it ; it is a 
difficult boat to get off shallows, and the utmost 
precaution will not prevent its grounding sometimes 
upon the ever-shifting sands of the river-bed. The 
saloon and cabins are all on deck, and occupy one 
half the length of the vessel; a dining saloon, with 
a broad divan round it, is first entered, and beyond 
it the sleeping cabins are arranged. Xo provision 



80 



UP THE NILE. 



whatever is made for the sailors or native servants, 
who generally cover the front deck with an awning 
of sail-cloth, and so sleep on the boards. They look 
like so many bundles of old clothes, when thus 
arranged for the night; for they twist the burnous, 
or cotton malayat, over head and feet in a way that 
would smother persons unused to such packing. 
When they row, they lift alternate planks from the 




deck, sitting on such as remain, and dropping their 
feet through the openings, resting on the ribs of 
the boat as they propel it with very long oars. 
When the wind is fair, the sails only are used; 
when it is foul, they are at once furled : but if the 
rowers do not use the oars, they commence " track- 
ing," or towing the heavy vessel, by means of a 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



81 



rope, to which smaller ropes are attached, and passed 
over the shoulders, one to each man. The progress 
is exceedingly slow, five miles a day being about the 
usual average. The boatmen never use the sails for 
tacking, as vre do ; they are too large and unwieldy 
for that purpose, and are occasionally dangerous, if 
sudden gusts of wind catch them. To this they are 
liable on a sharp turn of the river, particularly 
where cliffs rise; when the wind sets full against 
these headlands, there is nothing to be done but to 
anchor the boat to the bank, and wait till it ceases. 
It is not unusual for travellers to be confined thus 
to one uninteresting spot for two or three days, the 
winds generally bringing clouds of fine dust from 
the deserts on each side the river, filling the 
air with a yellow haze. Without these annoy- 
ances, but with an adverse wind, we were five 
days going as far as we returned in one day, with 
a fair wind. 

These large sails are managed by ropes passed to 
the steersman, who is certainly the most important 
person on board. He gives orders for their man- 
agement, and directs the vessel's course. Should a 
squall arise, the sails are quickly let go at the lower 
ropes which secure them to the sides of the vessel ; 
but it is not unusual for tables to be upset, and a 
complete smash occur on board in the midst of a 

3 E 



82 



UP THE NILE, 



calm, by a sudden burst of wind from a gap or cliff 
side ; and to bear screaming and confusion among 
tbe sailors as if all were going to destruction. The 
rudders of all tbe Nile boats are very large. Tbe 
reis, or captain, is little more tban a " routine " 
addition to its freight ; be tells tbe sailors to do 
what they must obviously do without such orders ; 
he smokes all day, or occasionally puts his hand on 
top of an oar some one else pulls; his real utility 
consists in standing at the head of the boat, with 
a long pole, and sounding the depth of the water to 
avoid shallows. In all these arrangements of captain, 
steersman, and crew, the most modern vessel on the 
Nile (which ours was) is precisely similar to the 
most ancient ones depicted by artists in the days of 
the Pharaohs. 

Boats are generally hired at Boulak (where their 
builders live) at certain rates per month, or by the 
trip of three months or more. They vary in price 
according to style or size ; it has risen considerably 
within the last few years, owing to the great influx 
of visitors ; thus more than one hundred and thirty 
of these boats ascended the Nile in the winter and 
spring of 1860-61. The average is from £50 to 
£70 per month, and the expenses of a crew as 
follows ; each item being put in English money, and 
being one month's pay : — 



BOTJLAK TO MIXIEH. 



83 



Reis or Captain 

Second Captain or Steersman 

Sailor . 

Dragoman or Interpreter 
Cook . 

Waiter or General Servant . 



. 15 
. 15 
,700 
.500 



| 110 



The small sums paid as wages to captains and 
sailors, are, however, considerably increased by the 
expenses to which the traveller is subjected in feed- 
ing them, and giving " backsheesh." A stock — 
lentils, corn, and bread — is laid in for a certain 
calculated time in starting, and is renewed at 
different large towns on the river, where the 
travellers are expected to rest for twenty-four hours 
to bake bread enough till another stopping place be 
reached, generally four places going, and the same 
returning ; these are usually Minieh, Siout, Girgeh, 
Keneh, Thebes, Esne, or Assouan, according to the 
time wind or weather permits each to be reached. 
The " backsheesh " consists of a money gift, about 
fifteen shillings or a pound, — or the present of a 
sheep, which comes to the same money. The 
cc backsheesh " is always converted into animal food 
for the voyage, as well as partially expended in the 
purchase of the ripe sugar-cane, which is cut into 
small pieces, and sucked with infinite gusto on all 
occasions. 



84 



UP THE NILE. 



The dragoman is the person who profits most 
largely on the voyage. He is generally intelligent, 
and a good linguist; mostly from Malta or Alex- 
andria. One well-known man began life as a 
donkey-boy, and will end it as "a rich fellow, go to, 
one that hath two coats, and everything handsome 
about him." The dragoman arranges everything, 
purchases everything; has large profits on every 
transaction the traveller enters upon. He is the 
person tradesmen court, and whose patronage they 
will secure by extortionate allowances ; the traveller 
is merely his banker, and is cheated with his ears 
and eyes open, totally unable to help himself. 
Should he attempt to purchase by himself, he is as 
much cheated, the shopkeepers being delighted at 
the chance of getting all the cash in their own 
hands : but a dragoman does not scruple to call 
and demand his share should he discover the man, 
who dares not refuse it, lest his future custom be 
destroyed ; for the whole class combine to keep trade 
away from the man who does so. The traveller is, 
therefore, a veritable Sindbad during his voyage — 
with his dragoman, like the Old Man of the 
Mountain, heavy on his shoulders, and not to be 
shaken off. 

It is possible to adopt a mode by which a good 
deal of annoyance may be saved ; and this is, by 



BOULAK TO MESTIEH, 



85 



agreeing with a dragoman (which may be clone at 
Malta) for the hire of the boat and crew ; he taking 
the entire responsibility of the journey. You have, 
therefore, only to arrange his personal fee, and a 
certain sum per day for the rest. A friend of the 
author, with a party of four others, made this 
arrangement, paying for each person at the rate of 
£1 English per day. For this everything was pro- 
vided — breakfast, with eggs or cold meat ; dinner, 
and coffee in the evening. Wines, liquors, or tea, 
were not included ; but a table was kept, irrespective 
of that, with which all were satisfied. It is neces- 
sary that a clear preliminary understanding should 
be entered into, and the traveller should arrange to 
have a certain amount of time at his disposal during 
the voyage to land and view the antiquities, towns, 
or places, as he may wish ; or else the letter only 
of the arrangement will be kept. Instances have 
occurred in which persons have been hurried past 
the places they came to see and stop at, under 
pretence of "no agreement^ to do so, or that wind 
or weather necessitated "getting on. ;; Thus an 
entire voyage may be rendered inutile and annoying. 

Let us suppose our own boat well manned and 
victualled, departing with a fair wind from Boulak. 
The only striking object there is the palace erecting 
for the Pasha; it occupies three sides of an extensive 



86 



UP THE NILE. 



court-yard, but, like every other new building in 
this country, it has no trace of the fine old native 
taste, but is a sort of semi-Italian design. The 
picturesque island, El Rodah (or "the Garden"), 
two miles and a half in length, is now passed ; its 
palaces and pleasure grounds hiding the main land. 
It has many shady spots to which the people of 
Cairo resort; at its southernmost point is the 
Nilometer, which is traditionally said to be the 
place where the infant Moses was discovered by 
Pharaoh's daughter. When we started, on the 




morning of January 5th, 1861, a large number of 
boats had been waiting for more than a week for 
a fair wind ; and on looking back from this point, 
the effect of the continuous group of vessels with 
all sails spread, floating like immense birds upon 
the river, was very peculiar ; and I copy above the 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



87 



sketch I took of the scene. Ghizeh is on the high 
bank to the spectator's left ; the ferry at Fostat to 
the right; the long low building in the island is 
the kilometer ; Cairo, the Mosque of Mohamed Ali, 
and Mount Mokattani above all. A turn of the 
river carries us from the busy scene into a very 
lonely one ; a long series of sandbanks on one side, 
and pyramids on the other, both backed by distant 
hills, are all that meet the eve for many miles. 
The number of these remarkable monuments is 
greater than we usually imagine, and is thus de- 
tailed by Colonel Yvse. " The pyramids of Middle 
and of Lower Egypt are thirty-nine in number ; they 
are situated on the western side of the river, and 
chiefly in the desert hills, which form the western 
boundary of the valley of the Nile : — 

1 was in the Nome Latopolitis. 
33 „ „ Memphitis. 

2 „ „ Heracleopolitis. 

3 „ „ Crocodilopolitis. 

They occupy a space, measuring from north to south, 
of fifty-three miles." Those of Abouseer first come 
in sight at about seven miles distance from Ghizeh. 
The largest has been denuded of the stones which 
once filled the angles of the ranges of platforms 
composing it, so that it looks like a series of ruined 



88 



UP THE NILE. 



steps. Dr. Lepsius, and other savans, are now 
persuaded that this exhibits the mode in which all 



mid of Cheops, and the summit of the second 
pyramid beside it ; that their foundation was laid in 
a central chamber, to be the mausoleum of the king, 
and which was prepared during the life of the 
monarch, who gradually enlarged it, by increasing 
and adding step by step, each one affording spaces 
or terraces for workmen and machinery to lift the 
ponderous stones from the lowermost to the highest. 
Herodotus says they were completed from the top 
downwards, an assertion easily understood, though 
long a puzzle to his readers, if we imagine them 
perfected at the apex, and at each platform in 
succession below — the best and most easy mode for 
the labourer to complete his work. 

M* Mariette has had the good fortune to make 
one of the most interesting of modern discoveries^ 
at a short distance to the west of these pyramids. 
It is the exhumation of the Apis sepulchres, where 




pyramids were constructed, 
and that they were built in a 
series of such platforms or 
degrees, filled in (as at A in 
the cut) with other or tri- 
angular stones, like those 
found at the base of the Pyra- 



BOtLAK TO MIXIEH. 



89 



the sacred bulls were buried, with the sarcophagi 
and commemorative inscriptions to each. Their 
value and curiosity mar be understood from M. 
Mariettas enumerations of stelae and inscriptions, 
altogether amounting very nearly to 7,000, of 
which 8.000 refer to these bulls. Thev date from 
670 years b.c. to the latest time of Egyptian 
paganism. The Temple of Serapis, in which the 




living bull was exhibited to its worshippers, was 
above these galleries, which were excavated in the 
limestone rock, having lateral chambers 25 or 30 feet 
high, each appropriated to a separate mummied bull, 
placed in a huge granite sarcophagus from 12 to 
14 feet high, and from 15 to 16 feet long. The 
engraving represents one of these creatures in its 



90 



UP THE NILE. 



varied bandages, strapped across to a few palm- 
staves that it might be lifted easily ; it was obtained 
from this district by the late Dr. Abbott. Each 
vault was closed by a stone wail, and the vaults and 
passages were lined and arched with masonry. It 
was believed that the greatest of the gods, Osiris, 
lived among the Egyptians in the form of this 
animal, which was always of pure white, and bore 
certain signs. Herodotus says, that for the sacred 
bull to be distinguished, his black forehead must 
have upon it a perfect white square, upon his back 
must be the figure of an eagle, and under his tongue 
another peculiar mark. iElian says he must have 
twentv-nine distinct characteristics before he can be 
accepted as the abode of the divinity. When he died 
the countrv went into mournino* until his successor 
was found, but if he lived more than twentv-five 
years, his priests drowned him in the sacred well. 
When his successor was found, the utmost rejoicing 
took place, and it was on such an occasion when 
Cambyses returned to Memphis from his unfortunate 
expedition into Ethiopia, that he mistook the general 
gaiety for a celebration of his defeat, slew the 
priests, and wounded the bull with his own sword, 
so that the animal died soon after. When the 
Alexandrians glorified their city with a Serapeum. 
and it rose in wealth as Memphis decayed, they 



EOULAK TO MIXIEH. 



91 



were anxious to transfer the abode of the sacred 
animal to the newer city, and we cannot say that 
one of these disputes may not have had an important 
effect on Britain, inasmuch as the Emperor Hadrian 
was called away from our island to pass through 
Gaul to Alexandria, and settle the dispute that was 
raging in Egypt on this point. 

The Sakkara Pyramids are but a short distance 
from the Apis Cemetery, which lies between them 
and Abouseer. Colonel Vyse notes eleven of them, 
once existing here ; all are much ruined, and of 
many little more than founda- 
tions can be traced. The 
largest, represented in our 
cut, very clearly displays the 
mode of building we have 
already alluded to. It is 
called by the Arabs " Haram- 

el-Modargeh" (the pyramid of degrees). The 
exterior form comprises six degrees or stories, each 
of which had the shape of a truncated pyramid, and 
is successively smaller than that below it. They 
vary in height, and gradually diminish toward the 
top. It is composed of loose rubble enclosed by 
walls, the lowest ten feet high. TTithin it are a 
quantity of passages and chambers, so that it 
appears to have been an extensive catacomb, rather 




92 



UP THE NILE. 



than the tomb of a single individual, according to 
the opinion of Mr. Perring, who, with Colonel Vyse, 
minutely examined the entire series of these erec- 
tions in this part of the Nile. 

Upon this plain, and probably upon a part of it 
now covered by the deviation of the river, stood in 
ancient times the great city of Memphis. There are 
now few traces of the once busy capital, where 
Moses and the Jewish captives lived and toiled. A 
few foundation walls, in a dreary waste of sand, are all 
that are left of the temples and residences that once 
crowded the spot. One solitary monument tells of its 
past grandeur — the broken colossus of Rameses II., 
the Sesostris of antiquity, which is now thrown down 
and periodically covered by the high rise of the 
Nile; it is of pure white polished limestone, and 
must have been more than forty feet in height 
when perfect. Very many years ago, it was given 
to England ; but the government that could cheer- 
fully waste £21,000 in trying to make a clock strike 
at "Westminster, has never been rich enough to 
carry from Egypt any important gift. All that our 
museum possesses is chiefly owing to individual 
enterprise, or has been bought cheap in sale rooms 
by niggardly grants from an unwilling exchequer. 

Dr. Abbott's extensive museum was almost entirely 
composed of antiquities found at Sakkara during his 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



93 



stay at Cairo. In one particular spot of that vast 
cemetery are pits, in which are found vases filled 
with eggs ; and not far from that spot are some 
extensive excavations, filled with the mummied Ibis, 
in coarse earthen jars, piled up on each side. They 
are of a peculiar form, circular and conical, with 
a lid, which is generally well secured by cement. 
Fig. 1 represents one of these jars as they are 



13 2 




first found. The bird is thickly enveloped in cloths, 
and lapped in an outer covering, which is bound at 
the narrow end, as shown in Fig. 2. If these wrap- 
pers be all removed, we see how ingeniously the bird 
was packed ; the neck and head were folded over 
the breast, the wings brought close to the sides, 
and the long legs folded up and brought beneath 
the beak, as in Fig. 3. There was no sacred 



9-1 



UP THE NILE. 



creature among the ancient Egyptians more cared 
for, living or dead, than the Hois. It was sacred 
of Thoth, the Egyptian Mercury, and, according to 
Plutarch, was believed to typify the moon's changes, 
in the mixture of black and white feathers it bore. 
It was an emblem of purity, because it would never 
approach impure water, hence the priests went to 
the spots frequented by the Ibis, to obtain the 
water they used in their purifications. To have 
killed one of these birds would have subjected a 
person to the punishment of death, even, according 
to Herodotus, if it had been done involuntarily. 
The bird was of real utility in destroying serpents 
and noxious insects, and this may have led to 
its early veneration in Egypt. It is frequently 
represented on Roman monuments engaged in this 
useful work. 

The Ibis is now nearly extinct in the country, 
although it has never been destroyed for food, which 
might otherwise have accounted for its rarity. A 
naturalist, who has visited Egypt four times, could 
only obtain three specimens. 

Passing on, the Pyramids at Dashour come in 
view. Our engraving exhibits their aspect as they 
rise above the alluvial plain. Two are of stone, 
and are very little ruined; two of brick, of which 
but small ruined fragments remain — one may be 



B0T7LAK TO MIXIEH. 



95 



seen in the centre of the following view. One of the 
stone pyramids is remarkable for its form : if com- 
pleted in accordance with the slope of the upper 
angles, it would have had a low, heavy effect, unlike 
any other, but the lower portion has been completed 
at a totally different and very sudden slope. 
Lepsius and others cite this one particularly as a 
proof that their mode of explaining Herodotus is 
the right one, and think that this pyramid was in 
process of addition during the life of the sovereign 




whose mausoleum it was intended to be ; that it was 
finished down to the line where the more rapid 
inclination commences, and afterwards completed 
by the successor, who saved bv this deflexion of 
the angle more than half the amount of the labour 
and material which would have been expended in 
carrying out the original design. The larger 
portion of these lower casing stones was removed 
bv the late Defterdar Mohammed Bev. to aid in the 
construction of a palace he was building near Cairo. 



96 



UP THE NILE. 



At Masarah, on the opposite bank of the stream, 
are the vast limestone quarries from which the 
ancients procured the material for their buildings. 
Their entire method of cutting the stone is per- 
ceptible ; the early inscriptions and sculptures testify- 
how ancient these quarries are, as they note under 
whose reign certain portions of them were worked, 
and for what public buildings they were used. 
Their great extent proves how valuable they were 
to Memphis. 

The dark groves of acacia, or the groups of more 
solemn palms, by their greenness and vigour, testify 
to the rich nature of the soil. The ancient writers 
abound in praises of the gardens which once sur- 
rounded Memphis, and the lilies that crowded its 
canals. There is still one of these great works for 
necessary irrigation, the Bahr Yussuf, or Joseph's 
River, which bearing the name of the friendly 
ruler, is traditionally said to have been constructed 
by his orders. It runs beneath the Libyan hills, 
and distributes the waters of the high Nile to the 
edge of the cultivated land. We shall meet with 
little to arrest attention until we come opposite 
Maydoun, situated about five miles from the river 
upon the canal named above. Here we part with 
the last of the Pyramids. It stands on a rock, 
and is popularly known as "the False Pyramid/' 



BOULAK TO M1NIEH. 



97 




from a belief that the centre of this ancient work 
is not in reality constructed by man, but is a portion 
of the rock : the 
base of the Pyramid 
is 530 feet square. 
Walls of masonry 
slope at a very ob- 
tuse angle^ above half 
its height; upon this 
platform a smaller 
mass of the same 

form is erect ed, and a third, still smaller, crowns all. 
The effect of its outline, and that of its rocky base, is 
strikingly singular when the sun sets behind the dark 
mass, with a ruddy glow unknown to colder climes. 

The scenery of this part of the Nile is very flat 
and monotonous. It has been well described by 
Colonel Vyse in the following words : — " The general 
appearance of the country is that of a fertile plain, 
bounded by the desert on a much higher level. 
The barren mountains are at considerable distance 
on the western side, but approach nearer on the 
eastern, and occasionally come down, in the form 
of rocky cliffs, to the edge of the stream. 

"The villages are situated amidst open groves of 
palm-trees, upon mounds of rubbish which frequently 
conceal the foundations of ancient towns ; and, being 



98 



I T P THE NILE. 



sometimes embellished with lofty minarets, and with 
one or two considerable buildings, rendered con- 
spicuous by whitewash, and by regular windows, 
they produce, at a distance, a pleasing and charac- 
teristic effect ; but, upon a nearer approach, nothing 
can be more forlorn than the flat-roofed houses, 
built with clay-brick of the same colour as the 
adjoining land, and often more dilapidated than 
the ancient ruins amongst which they are placed. 
The vacant, unglazed windows, instead of affording 
an idea of light and cheerfulness, disclose dark and 
dreary apartments, to which comfort and cleanliness 
are alike strangers. 

" Nor is the scenery much enlivened by the 
listless groups seated under the walls, to bask in the 
warmth of the noon-day sun ; by the naked children, 
and half-starved dogs, dispersed among the rubbish ; 
by the cattle standing on the brink, or the buffaloes 
immersed in the mud of the river, or even by the 
graceful forms of the Arab women, filling their 
jars at the all-bounteous stream. 

" Excepting occasional exclamations, the perpetual 
groanings of the unwearied sakias, turned by cattle, 
or the splashings of the water, raised by a succession 
of baskets worked by manual labour, are the only 
sounds to be heard. Nor are many objects to be 
seen moving along the banks/'' 



BOULAK TO MIXIEH. 



99 



The modes of needful irrigation alluded to are 
the first novelties that meet the eye of a stranger 
on leaving Cairo. The sakia may be described 
as a wheel, with cogs placed horizontally, and turned 
on a perpendicular beam, to which a yoke for oxen 
is attached ; making the cogs, as they perambulate, 




turn an upright wheel, connected in its axle with 
a very large wheel at the edge of the river bank. 
Over this wheel passes a continuous double cord, 
to which earthen water -jars are tied at intervals; 
and which bring up water from the stream, emptying 
it by the turn of the wheel into a trough, and then 

f 2 



100 



UP THE NILE. 



descending, month downwards, for a fresh, supply. 
The water thns raised passes from the trough into 
a series of trenches, cut at right angles all over the 
fields or gardens. Each tiny stream has a dyke 
of its own ; and the earthen mound which prevents 
an undue amount of water from flowing over any 
portion of the ground, may be allowed to do so 
when the husbandman pleases, by merely pressing 
it down, or pushing it aside with the foot. This 
custom is alluded to in Deuteronomy xi. 10, where 
Moses contrasts the promised land with " the land 
of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou 
sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, 
as a garden of herbs/' 

This machine was not anciently known in Egypt, 
and appears to have originated in Persia. It is 
common in western Asia, and is known as " the 
Persian wheel." Some portion of the water is 
lost in being awkwardly discharged into the trough ; 
the construction of the machine, too, is generally 
of the clumsiest order; hence you may always 
know when you are near one of them, by the 
groaning and shrieking of the dry ill-fitting portions 
of the woodwork, as well as by the continual splash 
and fall of water. Light sleepers or invalids will 
consequently do well to avoid having their boats 
anchored near one of them, for with the earliest 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 101 

dawn the cattle are yoked to the wheel, and their 
monotonous course for the day commences. 

The other mode of raising water is by the shadoof, 
or pole and bucket ; this is done by manual labour, 




and merely raising the water to a series of levels 
until the high land is reached. One man only may 
thus be seen labouring when the land is not far 
above the water ; but generally two work together ; 
and frequently a series of these machines, one above 
the other, are each actively engaged by a pair of 
labourers, as shown in our cut. The supports for 
the cross-bar on which the pole hangs, are either 



102 UP THE NILE. 

formed from the stump of a palm-tree, or made 
by a pyramidal lieap of clay. From the cross-bar 
hangs the pole by bands of palm-fibres : at one 
end is a heavy lump of clay, at the other is secured, 
by a thong of fibres, a suspended central-stalk of 
the palm-branch ; to this the basket is hung, and 
dipped into the water by pulling the palm-branch 
downward — the weight of the clay lifting it at once 
when the man pleases, who seizes the basket by 
the handle above, and the loop below it, and empties 
it into a small reservoir behind him, which has 
been dug in the earth for its reception. From 
this stage it is raised to the next by his fellow 
labourers. This mode of watering the land is pro- 
foundly ancient, and is frequently depicted in the 

earliest tombs of Egypt ; 
the cut is copied from one 
of them. The simple 
machine, and the equally 
simple dress of the fell ah, 
or peasant, have not al- 
tered for three thousand 
years. The village life 
on the Nile banks and 
the desert life of the 
Bedouin, have preserved, during all change, the 
features of the Bible era. Dr. Kitto says, "This 




BOULAK TO M1NIEH. 



103 



principle is very extensively employed in eastern 
Europe and western Asia to the raising of water from 
wells. It prevails from one end of Russia to another, 
as also in Asia Minor, parts of Persia and Syria/' 
This simple contrivance may, however, be seen in 
use nearer home, for in the extensive market gardens 
at Fulham and Brentford the same mode of lifting 
water-buckets from the wells is adopted. 

There is still another and simpler mode of raising 
water, but it is confined to land on the lowest 
level ; and is most frequently used in the Delta : 
it is often seen in the course of the railway journey 
from Alexandria to Cairo. It consists of one large 
bucket, with a double rope fastened to each side of 
it; and is managed by two men, who, standing 
on each side of the trench or reservoir cut in the 
bank, dip it in the water, lift it, and turn it into 
the tank above them. This, though the simplest, 
is in reality the most laborious mode of irrigation 
adopted by the Egyptian husbandmen. 

The houses of the poor peasants are wretched 
hovels of mud ; hollow cubes, often without a window, 
only a rough wooden door for admission; a few^ 
pieces of rude crockery, basins, dishes, and a water- 
jar, are all their contents. The better-class farmers, 
or the village Sheikhs, reside in a mansion which, 
though mainly built of mud, is also partially con- 

ir 



104 



UP THE NILE. 



stmcted of sun-dried bricks,, arranged in some 
places diagonally, with interstices, so that they 
ventilate the house as well as decorate it. Some- 
times the house is further ornamented with red 
and white-wash, laid in large lines, with chevrons 
between, reminding the spectator of portions of 
the wall decorations of many of the oldest Egyptian 
tombs. These decorations are always bestowed 

m 

upon the house of a Hadji, or pilgrim to Mecca, 
by his fellow villagers on his safe return. The 
lower rooms of a house are generally used for stores. 
The upper ones communicate with their roofs, and 
are generally used as dwellings, the inhabitants in 
summer sleeping on u the house-top," as in ancient 
times. 

The situation of the villages may always be 
detected in the level plain, by the groups of palm 
trees that shoot up around and among the houses. 
The natives think that God has given the date-palm 
as a peculiar favour to the Muslims, who are destined 
to be masters of every country in which it flourishes. 
It was the favourite fruit of the prophet, who says 
of it : — " Honour your paternal aunt, the date-palm, 
for she was created of the earth of which Adam was 
formed/'' The palm-tree has several well-known 
properties that render it, in Asiatic opinion, an 
emblem of a human being ; among which are these • 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



105 



that if the head be cut off the tree dies, and if a 
branch be cut off another does not grow in its place. 
Our views of the towns of Sharouna, Tahta, &c, 
exhibit the form of this tree, which is highly valued 
for its fruity while its wood is used as building 
timber, sufficiently strong for a dry climate and the 
fragile walls with which it is combined. It has a 
double value in the eye of a native, because it is a 
tree that requires no attention while growing, and 
thus does not interfere with farm labour, producing 
a regular mass of fruit without trouble or manuring. 
Every tree is numbered, and its owner has to pay a 
tax upon each to the government. 

For a very long and tedious distance, the voyager 
will see little else but flat land, with here and there 
a clump of palms, announcing a village, each one as 
featureless as the other, and all so much alike that 
when you examine one you have seen all : the desire 
of novelty, a feeling of ennai, never enters the mind 
of an ordinary Egyptian. 

The geological features of the river, as exhibited 
in the hills of the Arabian and Libyan chain, are 
the most interesting points for the eye to rest on in 
this portion of the river ; and bear traces in their 
conical shapes and broken forms, of the rush of 
waters that once passed over or around them, when 
the great convulsion occurred which parted the 

r 3 



106 



UP THE NILE. 



mountains, and opened this great central valley for 
the passage of the Nile. The sketch engraved 
below was taken at Zaytoun ; it depicts the Arabian 




side of the river, and well displays the varied forms 
assumed by the core of the rocks, often taking the 
shape of the step-pyramid, or " castled crag/" 5 in 
the dim twilight. 

The banks are frequently enlivened by groups of 
women and girls, who regularly come there to fetch 
water and wash clothes. The latter is not a verv 
heavy task, for little clothing is worn, and it is 
seldom changed by its wearer, who is often content 
to keep it upon him till it drops off in rags. The 
water-carrying is a serious and never-ending labour, 
a real drudgery; for the heavy jars borne on the 
women^s heads (seen in our cut in page 101), are 
clumsily constructed of clay, and weigh from seven 
to eight pounds each when empty, and from seventy 



BOITLAK TO MIXIEH. 



107 



to eighty pounds each when full. Some are made 
smaller for children's use ; all are carried upright 
on the head, the Troman being aided by another in 
lifting it there; the end of the jar being received 
in the hollow pad, placed on the head of the carrier. 

" Nothing of interest is met on the Nile between 
Zowyeh and Benisouef/' says Wilkinson ; hence, if 
the wind be foul, the voyager must make up his 
mind to a few of the dullest davs of his life. The 
lower part of the Nile and the Delta is very like the 
lower part of the Rhine and the marshes of Holland. 
The stupid monotony of the scene is wearisome 
indeed ! Yet, in defiance of all this, some enthu- 
siasts declare " the Nile is never monotonous ! ;; So 
savs one of the most modern of the creed : but his 
accuracv mav well be doubted when he describes the 
sugar-stalks that strew the river-bank at Minieh, as 
the bones of the sheep slaughtered that their blood 
might be used in the sugar-factory there ; and who 
also declares that the great temple at Dendera 
u exists only in the imagination * ; of Miss Martineau ! 

TTe may pass the time in noting the boats that 
float bv us in all varietv, from the native dahabeah 
to the smallest row-boat. The dahabeah used by 
the Egyptian is a far ruder thing than that provided 
for European travellers ; but it is precisely on the 
same principle of arrangement and construction : it 



108 



UP THE NILE. 



has its cabin, and as much convenience as its passen- 
gers care for. It is generally exceedingly dirty and 
overcrowded^ and bears the character of herding 
vermin, from rats to the minutest creeping things. 
It used to be the custom to sink all boats at Alex- 
andria or Cairo for a few days before Europeans 
entered them ; but now hired boats may be had 
without this preliminary drowning. Cleanliness has 
been found to pay best at Boulak, and boats may be 




had without this unrecognised "live stock " on 
board. Still, it is very necessary to be cautious in 
the outset, and the traveller should examine for 
himself, and trust to no one, ere he commits himself, 
his family, or friends, for a three months' habitation 
in any vessel. 

The usual traffic boats are exhibited above ; they 
are merely ribbed and planked, without deck, flat 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



109 



on the stem where the heavy rudder acts, and sharp 
at the prow, which rises considerably ; they have 
but one sail, which is managed by the steersman, as 
we see it in ancient Egyptian paintings. These 
boats are chiefly employed in the transport of grain, 
and are at times very heavily laden. The sides of 
the boat are sometimes raised by fixing rough up- 
rights and nailing planks to them, as seen at the 
stern of the second boat in the foregoing cut. This 




addition is caulked, or rather plastered outside with 
mud, laid on very thick. No cabin is in these 
boats, its want is unfelt by the boatmen, who have 
the faculty of sleeping at all times and anywhere, 
according to the accident of the hour. 

The capacity of these boats for carriage is great. 
In going up the river, the traveller will frequently 
encounter them floating down the stream, each 



110 



UP THE NILE. 



holding a small mountain of straw. Sometimes one 
boat holds it ; at others two are brought together, 
and the pile built over both. The straw, before it is 
thus packed, is chopped fine, as food for camels, who 
are employed by thousands all over Egypt; it is 
carried on board in baskets and piled on a frame- 
work of palm-sticks, which project very far over the 
river on each side of the boat, and are then sup- 
ported by trusses of straw tied to them, and floating 
on the surface of the water. The piling of the mass 
is entrusted to a few men on board, who arrange it 
like a truncated pyramid ; generally finishing the 
whole with a small pile at each angle of the apex. 
The second boat in the cut on the previous page, ex- 
hibits the whole of this arrangement, and beside it 
is given a representation of the two boats combined, 
as already alluded to. 

The smaller kind of open boats, the sandal, felookah, 
&c, are mere row-boats, usually connected with the 
larger vessels, and resemble the old lumbering 
English dinghee. There is an open boat that will 
most frequently attract the traveller's notice, and 
that is the ferry-boat. It is generally (like that in 
our next cut) of the heaviest and roughest construc- 
tion, as if knocked together by a country carpenter, 
rather than made by a boat-builder : it is a mere 
framework of timber, upon which rough planks have 



BOULAK TO MIXIEH. 



Ill 



been nailed, sometimes overlapping each other. It 
is paddled across the stream by a rude oar, made of 
a flat bit of timber, chopped to the shape of a 
narrowed handle at its upper end. The heavy 
rudder is equally rude in construction ; yet in such 
boats men, wonien, and cattle may be seen thickly 
packed, slowly crossing the river with the gravity of 




the East. Half a dozen donkeys, or a camel or two, 
often occupy the centre. 

Men who are fond of shooting may find abundant 
amusement in this part of the Nile, which abounds 
in wild birds. They assemble in large quantities on 
the low marshy land : in about two hours a friend 
killed twenty-nine ducks, eleven geese, and three 
teal. Some persons now visit the Xile solely for 
shooting. "When wild birds fail, pigeons may be 
had in any quantity ; they are all private property, 
but the natives seldom object to their being shot — 
though instances to the contrary have occurred where 
even the offer of payment would not induce them to 



112 



UP THE NILE. 



grant the privilege ; but this was when the houses 
were full of young pigeons, whose lives depended on 
the parent birds. The objection was made by the 
few inhabitants of what might be termed a " pigeon 
village/' near Benisouef. A view of the place is 
given, Plate III., and comprises all the habitable 
houses to be seen there ; they are the homes of the 
peasants who look after the birds. These houses are 
the usual mud cubes ; but some are mere open screens 
of reeds, held together by hay-bands, as seen in 
the centre of the view. The pigeon-houses are built 
of mud, like small round towers, surmounted by- a 
group of cupolas ; one of them is seen to the right in 
our view. Globular earthen pots, similar to those 
seen in many English villages, are built into the 
mud walls, for the nests of the birds, who enter 
by means of circular holes below. A small low 
door at the base of the tower, admits the man whose 
business it is, once in three months, to enter and 
take the young pigeons for market, as well as clean 
out the guano, which is sold at a good rate, as the 
best native manure. Ranges of these pigeon -houses, 
confined by a curtain wall, ran for half a mile into 
the fields, at right angles from the houses in the 
view ; and gave an appearance of a strongly-fortified 
town to the very innocent place. 

Benisouef, although the residence of the governor 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 113 

of a small province, is a very dull, uninteresting 
country town ; deficient in any good public building, 
and not worth a two-mile ride across a hot plain 
to see. Upon the plain, some of the rude con- 
trivances of the husbandmen may be studied — the 
wooden collars and palm-fibre ropes for securing 
cattle to the rude plough ; or the norek, a machine 
for threshing Indian 
corn. It is like our 
harrow, but with a 
row of wheels in 
place of hooks, and 
is dragged over the 
corn by two oxen, 
who describe a wide 
circle round the clay threshing-floor, and have their 
foreheads tied to a beam which passes across them, 
and to the centre of which the norek is secured by a 
rope. A man, bearing a long staff with a goad at 
the end, walks beside and directs them, or sits upon 
the light frame of stick and cord built on the side 
bars of the machine, which in passing over the corn 
threshes out the grain ; the metal wheels, being sharp 
on the edges, at the same time cut up the straw, so 
that the food for man and beast is prepared by this 
one simple process. 

On looking back, after passing Benisouef, the range 




114 



UP THE NILE. 



of distant mountains is picturesque : as we advance, 
the river view resumes its Dutch character, and is 
at times so perfectly tame, that a few horizontal 
lines sketched on paper would comprehend its entire 
features, with the addition only of some shrubs and 
palm trees. The river itself is a clay-coloured 
stream, much impregnated with sand and the debris 
of the rocky country it passes through. It is gritty 
and muddy to the taste, but very soft ; it is always 
filtered for strangers ; but the natives profess to 
consider it the finest and most wholesome water 
in the world, and assert that it loses the better part 
of its sanitary quality when purified thus. But as this 
deposit soon settles in the large water-jar from which 
the daily supply is taken, most of the objectionable 
part is absent from what the peasant uses. Some 
persons of the better class allow it to stand for a day 
or two, in a jar rubbed with a paste of bitter almonds. 

The fish of the Nile are sometimes large and fine- 
looking. The best are a species of carp and perch. 
As a general rule the large fish are the worst 
flavoured. The flesh is soft and muddy, the pre- 
vailing fault with all river fish. The traveller, in his 
course, will have daily opportunities of testing them 
for himself, as many persons live by catching fish, 
and carrying them to the larger towns for sale. 

Beyond Isment, about four miles from Beni- 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



115 



souef, we pass the great quarries where the fine 
veined marble is obtained, of which the Mosque of 
Mohamed All, in the^ citadel of Cairo, was built. 
Soon after the scene again becomes a dead flat, except 
where groups of palms announce the presence of 
small villages. Then Tanseh, Brangeh, and ulti- 
mately Bibbeh, are reached; the last is a large town of 
mud hovels, built round the curve of the river, and 
forming a convenient harbour for the Nile boats 
that line its banks. "We anchored here for the 
night, but were soon driven beyond the town ; for, as 
evening set in, the inhabitants were all lighting their 
fires to cook their evening meal, and, as the fuel con- 
sists of cakes of dried dung, from camels and other 
animals, the stench was stifling, when combined with 
all the other abominations of a populous and untidy 
place. As a rule it is best to anchor near to, but not 
in front of, a town or village. 

Nearly opposite this place, Wilkinson notes the 
existence of the ruins of an ancient fortified city, 
partially built with inscribed bricks of the time of 
the Sheshonk who was contemporary with Solomon ; 
and having also fragments of the Roman era, and a 
stone quay at the water ^s edge. It was built on a 
rocky elevation, and is interesting to the Egyptian 
student ; but is scarcely worth the delay to an ordi- 
nary traveller, who will not comprehend a few ruined 



116 



UP THE NILE. 



brick walls. The ancient Egyptians wisely used 
such eminences for the foundation of cities, leaving 
the low arable land for farming. 

Malateah is the next place of any consequence; 
and is nearly a hundred miles from Cairo. Here 
the mountain chain again approaches the river ; the 
stratification of the rocks take fantastic forms. 




The softer layers, yielding more rapidly to the action 
of decay, leave ponderous ridges of harder stone as 
a girdle to the hill; our cut exhibits this, from 
a sketch taken near the town. The Nile, a little 
farther on, is like a very broad lake ; but in winter 
is very shallow, so that boats were continually grating 
the ground ; and the men who jumped in to push 
them off, never went deeper than the knees in water. 
Even our row-boat occasionally grounded. The 
mountain range on the Arabian shore continues to 
increase in height and grandeur, until it culminates 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



117 



in the noble cliffs at Gebel Sheikh Emberak, which 
reminded me in one part of our cliffs at Dover. 
After a few miles the mountains again recede, and 
leave a fertile plain, in the midst of which lies 
Sharouna, another good example of a country town, 
forming the subject of Plate IV. The houses are 
generally gaily painted in red and white, seeming to 
show the debased remnants of an old Egyptian style ; 
the bricks are arranged so as to form a ventilating 
pattern on the walls, and an open parapet is generally 
on the house-top. The doors of many houses were 
decorated with carved and coloured beams of wood, 
and over the centre of one I saw an earthenware 
English plate, of the world-renowned "willow 
pattern," inserted in the wall as an ornament, after 
the fashion of the old Moorish tiles in the Alhambra, 
and the Della-Eobbia terra-cottas in Italy. Shar- 
ouna is a large, straggling place ; its inhabitants seem 
to be exclusively husbandmen, and to cultivate the 
sugar-cane largely, — enormous bundles are brought 
in on people's heads, or thrown across the backs of 
donkeys, sweeping the road on each side of them, and 
raising clouds of dust, amid which the driver some- 
times sits gravely on the top of beast and burden. 

The lonely country here presents a profound con- 
trast to what it must have shown in the days of the 
Pharaohs. The mounds of ancient cities appear on 



118 



UP THE NILE. 



all sides ; and if we can picture in our mind's eye 
the hill forts, the thriving villages and towns, with 
their decorated temples, the villa-residences of the 
noble, the banks covered with busy labourers, or the 
towns filled by a dense population ; the gaily-painted 
chariot dashing along the banks, or the equally 
gaily- decorated barge, with its coloured sail, floating 
on the water — we may have some faint idea of Egypt, 
in the palmy days of its native kings. 

Ghindieh and Abou-Girgeh, both on the western 
bank of the river, do not call for any special 
remark. At El- Kays, Wilkinson is disposed to place 
the site of the ancient Cynopolis, a city where the 
dog was held especially sacred. "It is worthy of 
remark," he observes, "that one of the principal 
repositories of dog mummies is found on the opposite 
bank, in the vicinity of Sheikh Fodl. It was not 
unusual for a city to bury its dead, as well as its 
sacred animals, on the opposite side of the Nile, 
provided the mountains were near the river, or a 
more convenient spot offered itself for the construc- 
tion of catacombs, than in its own vicinity; and 
such appears to have been the case in this instance/* 

At Sheikh Hassan, on the western bank of the 
river, we again meet with some of the extensive 
limestone quarries worked by the ancient Egyptians. 
The cubical masses they have separated in various 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



119 



layers down the sides of the strata, and the angular 
walls thus left, give the whole an appearance of a 
fortified city on a hill top. There are remains close 
by of ancient buildings of sun-dried brick, — and a 
small temple may also be seen. An immense 
boulder or fragment of rock lies nearer the stream, 
and is shown in the foreground of our cut ; many 




similar occur along the banks of the river, and have 
been carried thus far and deposited in the great rush 
of waters, when those geological transformations 
took place that have left the country in its present 
condition. Anything more hopelessly arid than the 
crumbling hills and sandy plain that bound the 
strip of pasture land, cannot be conceived, and pre- 
sent the most perfect contrast to the rich green 
fertility of the opposite bank. Sometimes an opening 
in the hills shows the dry waste of sand stretching 
far away into Arabia. Yet the fellah is squalid and 



120 



UP THE NILE. 



tamed by long oppression; while the Bedouin is 
healthy, active, and will bear no insult. An Arab 
author says, " Plenty and degradation is peculiar 
to Egypt, poverty and health to the desert." The 
temperate, active habits, and the independence of the 
son of the desert, keep him free from all disease, 
and preserve manly character. The miserable sub- 
jugation of the Egyptian peasant, and the many 
tyrants he has to contend against, from his master 
up to the viceroy, have completely destroyed him as 
a reasoning being, and his abject obedience is paid 
for in his dish of lentils, — like Esau, he has sold his 
birthright for a mess of pottage. 

The river winds considerably in this district, and 

when the wind is foul 
it may happen that by 
laborious " punting," 
and "tracking/' the 
boat may not go far- 
ther in one day than 
the pedestrian might 
walk in one hour, by 
taking a direct path 
from the base of the 
curve to the opposite point. Golosaneh is the first 
large town we shall meet; it presents no new 
features, unless we except the pigeon-houses which 




BOTTLAK TO MINIEH. 



121 



line its outskirts, and one of which, we engrave as 
a specimen of the ornamental character sometimes 
given to them by the native builder. Some islands 
occupy the centre of the stream opposite the town ; 
but there are no features of the scenery on this 
part of the stream that call for especial remark 
until we pass Serareeh. Nearly opposite that place, 
but at some distance from the water, is the town of 
Samalood \ it is picturesque in its general features, 
the minaret of its mosque being a boast among its 
peasant neighbours, as an example of what its native 
builders can do. The fertility of the land, and the 
listless content of the people, are both perfect in 
their way. The dogs alone display activity ; they 
are a wild, wolf-like race, and fly forth with most 
savage howls ; but invariably keep at some yards* 
distance from the person, as if, in fact, they were 
warning the stranger from a nearer approach on 
their master's domain, and which they are ready to 
resist, but not to molest him, if he does not attempt 
to overstep the bound. They invariably went back 
to their own huts as the strangers moved away from 
them. Their owners generally call them back, if 
they see them run at strangers. The peasant is never 
uncourteous, except in places where the Europeans 
congregate, and have brought out his greed for 
f( backsheesh/* Generally speaking, travellers have 

G 



122 UP THE NILE. 

themselves to blame for the large amount of in- 
civility and extortion they complain of. 

The rocks, which have been gradually approaching 
the river on the eastern side, now form bold cliffs 
many hundred feet in height . The nearest is known 
as the Gebel-el-Tayi'j, or Mountain of the Bird, from 
a curious Arab legend attached to it, thus given by 
Wilkinson : — " All the birds of the country are 
reported to assemble annually at this mountain, and 
after having selected one of their number to remain 
there till the following year, they fly into Africa, and 
only return to release their comrade and substitute 
another in his place." The lateral ledges of the 
sandstone rock, upon which the birds rest in the sun, 
safe from all molestation, have led to the choice by 
them of these cliffs as perching-places ; and long 
lines, numbering many thousands, may often be seen 
here, and probably originated the legend, which may 
be traced far back, for the writer above-quoted adds, 
" The story is probably another version of that men- 
tioned by JElian, who speaks of two hawks being 
deputed by the rest of the winged community to go 
to certain desert islands near Libya, for no very 
definite purpose."' 

On the very summit of this rock, is the Coptic 
convent of Sitteh, or Sittina, dedicated to the 
Virgin, and inhabited by a small community of 



i 



Pl.Y. 




T."W. Tairliolt.cLel.et Sc. . Ytrieeiit. Brooks, Imp 



CONVENT OF SiTTINA. 



BOULAK TO MINI EH. 



123 



monks, whose long black gowns,, with wide hanging 
sleeves, and tall round caps, give them somewhat the 
aspect of stage necromancers. They subsist on the 
produce of small portions of land, and are exempt from 
taxation. The convent and church are confined within 
dreary walls, from which steps lead downwards to 
natural platforms on the rock, as exhibited in our view, 
Plate V. From this platform fissures descend to the 
water, where they open into small caverns. By this 
means the monks come down to the river, and leav- 
ing their clothes behind them, dash into the stream, 
clamorously begging of all boats passing. As they 
have abundant leisure, they don't throw any chance 
away, but post themselves along the entire face of 
the rock at various intervals, and on the flat shore 
opposite. Two of them swam out to meet our boat 
on its approach, loudly proclaiming themselves 
Christians all the way they came. When helped on 
board, they crouched down and wrapped themselves 
in an old sail, asking first for something to drink. 
This obtained, and duly swallowed, they then begged 
for money, for more drink for their brethren and the 
chief of the convent, and ultimately for the bottles 
they had emptied. The latter they use to hold oil, 
aniseed, &c, which they cultivate on their lands, and 
sell in the markets near. The money they carry 
ashore in their mouths, the bottles, &c, in the left 

g 2 



124 



UP THE NILE. 



hand, swimming sideways and using the right arm 
only as a paddle. Once on board, they were in no 
hnrry to go. It was by no means agreeable to see 
Christianity at so low an ebb, represented by so 
despicable a set. The boatmen were, of course, far 
from civil ; and when one continued his importunity 
after he had obtained gifts, and would listen to no 
refusal, they unceremoniously pitched him into the 
water. Certainly those who do not respect them- 
selves, have no cause to imagine others will respect 
them. Surely this convent might manage its beg- 
ging with more decency, by sending a man in a 
boat, and not thus allowing a whole horde of naked 
wretches to disgrace themselves before people who 
already despise them too much. 

The Hon. R. Curzon, in his account of " Visits to 
Monasteries of the Levant/' has given a graphic and 
amusing description of his ascent up this cliff, after 
he had been assisted to the cave at its foot by two of 
the priests, who " swam like Newfoundland dogs." A 
narrow fissure, about the size of an ordinary chimney, 
had to be climbed. The abbot crept in at a hole at 
the bottom, " and telling me to observe where he 
placed his feet, he began to climb up the cleft with 
considerable agility. A few preliminary lessons from 
a chimney-sweep would have been of the greatest 
service to me ; but in this branch of art my educa- 



BOULAK TO MINIEH. 



125 



tion had been neglected, and it was with no small 
difficulty that I climbed up after the abbot, whom I 
saw striding and sprawling, in the attitude of a 
spread eagle, above my head. My slippers soon fell 
upon the head of a man under me, whom, on looking 
down, I found to be the reis, or captain of my boat, 
whose immense turban formed the whole of his 
costume. At least twenty men were scrambling and 
puffing underneath him, most of them having their 
clothes tied in a bundle on their heads, where they 
had secured them when they swam or waded to the 
shore. Arms and legs were stretched out in all 
manner of attitudes, the forms of the more distant 
climbers being lost in the gloom of the narrow cavern 
up which we were advancing, the procession being 
led by the unrobed ecclesiastics. Having climbed 
up about one hundred and twenty feet, we emerged, 
in a fine perspiration, on the face of the precipice, 
which had an unpleasant slope towards the Nile/ 5 
A more agreeable ascent leads from thence to the 
monastery, a square walled building entered by a low 
doorway. The church he describes as " one of the 
earliest Christian buildings which has preserved its 
originality:^ it is partly subterranean; the apsidal 
end is built in the recesses of an ancient stone quarry. 
It is constructed on the principle of Latin basilicas, 
not cruciform ; the portion in which the congrega- 



126 



UP THE NILE. 



tion assemble being perfectly square, the roof sup- 
ported by columns in advance of the walls, a lattice 
parting the sanctuary therefrom, which is much 
smaller and is reached by steps. That, and a small 
cell beside it, are cut in the rock, as shown in the 
plan given in Mr. Curzon^s valuable little volume. 

Nothing of interest occurs on the river between 
this point and Minieh ; when we have arrived there 
we have travelled one hundred and sixty miles 
beyond Cairo, and have left behind us the flat and 
uninteresting portion of the river, as far as scenery 
is concerned. Henceforth the eye and mind have 
more employment. 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 



127 



CHAPTER V. 

MINIEH TO SIOUT. 

A very busy scene greets the eye from the landing- 
place at Minieh ; no town on the Nile banks seems 
more replete with industry. From a very early 
period the inhabitants have been famed for greater 
trading energy than is usually found among the 
Egyptians. A large sugar-refinery, established by 
Mohamed Ali, gives great occupation, not only to the 
townspeople, but to the country around ; and it is 
no unfrequent sight to find a line of village wains, of 
the most primitive construction, drawn by buffaloes 
harnessed in an equally primitive style, with palm- 
fibre ropes, and clumsy wooden collars, hooked to 
the shafts, bringing in heavy loads of sugar-cane. 
The debris of the crushed cane strews the strand. Here 
a lover of the picturesque may be gratified by viewing 
the native boats load and unload, the dahabeahs arrive 
laden with natives, or more aristocratically fitted 



128 



UP THE NILE. 



and filled with travellers, who all stay here, for 
it is the place " to bake bread " for the crew : thirty 
hours is usually allowed for this ; the order is given 
on landing, and the dough kneaded, and bread baked, 
while the boat remains. As soon as the loaves are 
deposited on board the boat, they are cut up into 
transverse slices, each being again cut through the 
centre, and then spread in the sun to dry ; they are 
repeatedly turned over, and subjected to the process 
till they become almost as hard as ship biscuit ; this 
prevents them from getting musty; and as they are 
eaten after being soaked in hot water and made into 
a pottage with red lentils, the whole thing becomes 
a sort of pasty mass. It is turned into an immense 
wooden bowl placed on the deck, round which the 
crew sit, each man, captain included, thrusting his 
hand into the mass, and lifting to his mouth as much 
as he can carry. It has been the favourite food of 
the poorer classes in Egypt and Palestine from the 
earliest time, and is believed to have formed the 
ingredients of the " mess of pottage" for which 
Esau sold his birthright. It is nourishing, but not 
so much so as beans or wheat. We eat it in Eng- 
land, but under another name, at a very greatly 
increased price, as a panacea for all kinds of diseases, 
under the name of " Revalenta Arabica." The 
English delight in physic, and they may well rejoice 
at this, for it has at least one great advantage over 



PI. VI 




MINTEH TO SIOUT. 



129 



many other popular cures — it cannot possibly do 
any harm. 

It is worth the strangers while before he enters 
the dusty streets of the town to linger at the landing- 
place and look around. A Sheikh's tomb, em- 
bowered by the branches of an old plane-tree, is a 
picturesque feature in the scene. The houses with 
their trellissed balconies overhanging the river, the 
temporary coffee-shops, sometimes a mere shelter of 
reeds, or a tent after the Arab fashion, combine with 
the boats, the people, the broad river, and the bold 
cliffs on the opposite bank, in forming a scene as 
striking as any we shall meet on the journey. Like 
all Oriental cities, the romance is dispelled when the 
realities of the place are examined. It is but a great, 
dusty, dirty town ; the streets merely lanes between 
mud houses. There are some few exceptions, where 
they put on a more ambitious character, and u exalt 
their gates" with a framework of elaborately sculp- 
tured stones, as in Cairo. In the older part of 
the town combinations of antique buildings, now 
neglected and falling to decay, present attractive 
points for the pencil. Plate VI. is an example of this : 
the Sheikh's tomb, the half-ruined mosque, the 
groups of trees which grow undisturbed where 
they have planted themselves, and the quaint tower 
with its wooden balcony — from which the muezzin 

g 3 



130 UP THE KILE. 

announces his faith, and prayer time also — give a 
fair idea of a qniet corner in these old towns. 

There is a wretched bazaar in this town — the 
shops mere hovels, the divans in front of them plain 
mud banks covered with old carpet or rude matting ; 
but it is busy and lively. The boatmen patronise 
it largely, and they term it " good." The stranger, 
in threading the lanes towards it, may notice some 
few houses with very highly-painted doors. They 
are surrounded by whitewash, upon which groups of 
flowers, birds, and animals are painted in a style 
almost equal in point of accuracy to those on a girl's 
sampler or boy's slate. These striking enrichments 
denote it is a bathing house. The native artists 
seem to have been much impressed by the railway and 
steamboats which European enterprise has introduced 

among them. A railway 
train is no unusual deco- 
ration across the door, and 
steam-boats are also occa- 
sionally distributed among 
the birds and flowers. 
They are so very original 
in style that I copied two 
of them, and here recopy 
my sketches, that the 
reader may judge of the faithful nature of an 




MINIEH TO SIOUT. 



131 



Egyptian drawing of machinery. They are painted 
in bold black outline ; the body of the vessel relieved 
by patches of red. The upper one is somewhat re- 
moyed from a resemblance to a cart by its masts ; but 
the lower one with its double funnel has become so 
much more of an indication than a representation, 
that if the gradual recopying of an original, each less 
like than the former, be not borne in mind, it would 
be difficult to say what it was intended to delineate. 

In this town I had the first instance of the 
strength of native superstition as regards the evil 
eye. In Cairo it is usual to suspend some amulet 
round children's necks, to preserve them from its 
influence ; it often consists of a pear-shaped pendant, 
with a few lines from the Koran engraved on it. 
As I passed down one of the streets of Minieh, 
a little child was playing beside its mother at an 
open door, and looked up to me with pleased 
curiosity, which led me to smile on it, to the great 
discomfiture of its mother, who snatched it hastily 
up and drew it out of sight. I saw my error and 
turned away, hearing the mother mutter some 
counter-charm, fling a potsherd after me, and then 
hurriedly shut the door. It will be wise of the 
traveller not to notice children ; it is never favour- 
ably received; the poor tacitly encourage the 
dirt and squalor of their favourites, in order that 



132 IT THE NILE. 

they may have no attraction for the dreaded eye. 
Strangers who have praised children hare been 
earnestly implored by weeping mothers to destroy so 
unlucky an omen, by spitting in their faces, or 
showing some equally " lucky " mark of dislike. This 
feeling is particularly strong among the Arabs. 
Colonel Vyse relates a striking instance : he savs : — 
" The Arab that we procured as a guide at Sheikh 
Abadehj was accompanied by his son. about seven 
or eight years old. I happened to take notice of 
the child, and to give him a piastre, when his father 
immediately took him away, exclaiming that I 
wanted to murder him, in order to find hidden 
treasures by means of his blood." 

Superstitious credulity is rife in Egypt, nor is 
it confined to the humbler classes. A belief in 
witchcraft is very prevalent ; and I was told, by 
a very sensible, well-educated man, a story of a 
" witch-woman " as he termed her, who had taken 
some offence at a man, and had changed him into 
a crocodile for thirteen days, when he returned to his 
natural form, very much better behaved towards her 
for the gentle hint thus given him of what a con- 
trary course might produce. As my countenance very 
probably expressed incredulity, he looked very grave 
at me and added, " It is very true. I have seen the 
woman who did it. I have seen her with these 



MINIEH TO SIOUT, 



133 



eves ! " This led to another tale, as a confirmation 
of that just related. A woman in Cairo, whose 
husband was frequently up the river many months 
together, or at Alexandria a year at a time, on 
one of these occasions added a son to the family 
circle, of which it was impossible the husband 
could be father. The lady herself did not for one 
moment attempt to fix such a proper paternity ; 
but asserted that the father was an Efreet, or evil 
spirit, who had deceived her by taking the form 
of her husband. The obvious explanation of her 
adventure was scouted at once, when hinted at, and 
the supernatural theory adhered to, in preference. 
Indeed, it may be taken as a certain rule, that any- 
thing may be believed and excused, if supernatural 
agency be connected therewith. All persons are 
more ready to believe the mystic than the true. The 
mode by which they come to conclusions perfectly 
satisfactory to themselves, is quite characteristic of 
minds overloaded with anti-critical faith. Thev 

1/ 

dissect a story far enough to meet with something 
which accords with their own belief, where thev 
at once rest from further investigation, and accept 
the whole as well-confirmed truth. Thus, in the 
story given above, the witchcraft was believed 
because the woman who was supposed to be a witch, 
had been seen with the narrator's "own eyes." In 



134 UP THE XILE. 

the same Tray the son of the Efreet had been " seen/' 
which was deemed con elusive ; and when 1 ventured 
to hint, that seeing a person imputed to be the son 
of a spirit was no proof that he really was one, I was 
triumphantly met by the assertion — u He is half an 
Efreet himself, his eyes are like fire, and when he 
dies he will become a heap of ashes ! 93 

In the rocks opposite Minieh are many sepulchres 
of an earlv date. The wise sanitary laws of the 
ancients prohibited the burial of the dead near the 
abode of the living. Hence we find the tombs of 
the ancient Egyptians in the rocky hills that bound 
the land on each side of the river ; but most generally 
on the eastern or Arabian chain of mountains which 
approach nearest to the stream. The dead were 
carried across the Nile, with much ceremony, in 
funeral boats, expressly constructed for such service ; 
and Wilkinson conclusively remarks, that (( it was 
the old Egyptian custom of ferrying over the dead, 
that gave rise to the fable of Charon and the Styx ; 
which Diodorus very consistently traces from the 
funeral ceremonies of Egypt." 

The eastern bank keeps up its character of rocky 
dryness for a verv considerable distance : sometimes 
the river is edged by the rocks, which, by the 
gradual detrition of their upper surfaces, have formed 
sloping banks of sand. There are the remains of 



MIXIEH TO SIOUT. 



135 



some ancient cities here, but they Trill not reward 
the ordinary traveller by their exploration, inasmuch 
as they consist of little else than mounds of earth, 
fragments of crude brick walls, and heaps of broken 
pottery. One of these places, about two miles from 
Sooadee, is named Kom Ahmar, or the Red Mound, 
from the quantity of potsherds, and the burnt walls 
of the old town once there. The rocks beyond the 
town will, however, reward the exploration ; as many 
contain sepulchral chambers of a very ancient date, 
with sculptured representations of scenes in ancient 
Egyptian life of a curious kind ; they have furnished 
us with some of those interesting pictures, which 
resuscitate the palmy days of the land, when "the 
wisdom ;; and power of the country culminated under 
its native princes. 

Some large islands break the monotony of the 
river on our upward progress, and the general aspect 
of the country becomes much more picturesque. 
The villages present the usual features, and have all 
a wonderful family resemblance. Sharara, on the 
western bank, is a good example. A group of mud 
houses, with dusty lanes between, is situated in the 
midst of a small forest of date-palms, and plantations 
of sugar-cane. Indigo is also grown here, but the 
Egyptians are not clever in preparing it as a dye, 
and hence have very little demand for it, except by 



136 



UP THE NILE, 



the native dyers. There is no reason, however 
beyond ignorance or indolence, why this and many 
other things might not be usefully and profitably 
cultivated in the country. It is impossible to see so 
fertile a soil so wretchedly farmed, without thinking 
what might be made of it with capital, enterprise, 
and a fair amount of freedom guaranteed by a good 
government. But with the great drawback of an 
indolent and tyrannic one, that visits the industrious 
man with increased and capricious taxation, and 
thus gives a premium to indifference and idleness, 
it is wonderful that so much is done as we already 
see. If the day ever dawns on the East, when its 
rulers shall cast aside their palace-born ideas, become 
more human, and act as if they understood mere 
prudential honesty in government, Egypt may 
again be a land of plenty and prosperity ; and the 
stranger will no longer witness the monstrous 
anomaly of want and misery in a country of spon- 
taneous growth, and easy husbandry. 

Grain of all sorts is the chief part of the trade of 
the river \ boats up-heaped with it we meet con- 
stantly as we travel ; and we see large storehouses 
filled with grain, when we land at towns or villages. 
At some quiet sheltered spot on the stream we may 
be made cognisant of a deceptive trick, practised by 
the boatmen of the corn- vessels, which is very 



MIXIEH TO SIOUT. 



137 



. characteristic of the wav in which cheating is con- 
ducted here ; inducing each man to take every 
opportunity of defrauding his neighbour. The 
farmer having put on board, for the corn-dealer at 
Cairo, his just quantity, the captain and crew stop 
on the road, unload the vessel, dig a small reservoir 
on the side of the river's bank, and soak the grain in 
this water, by which means they add to the weight 
of the whole mass, and sell the difference ; the cap- 
tain taking half the plunder, and the sailors the rest. 

With all their inborn love of trickery, the peasants 
have a childlike simplicity, most amusing in its 
results. In strolling about the village of Sharara, 
we came on a group that evinced this. Some boys 
were playing a game with hard-boiled eggs ; the 
game consisted in rolling them down an inclined 
plane made in a sand bank, and he who hit his 
neighbour's egg took that, and as many others as 
had been rolled down before in trying to hit the 
mark. These boys were surrounded by a group of 
men, many quite venerable old fellows ■ but they 
entered into the chances of the game with an interest 
the most profound; joining in the quarrels it en- 
gendered with as much relish and vigour as any 
of the boys displayed. At one time the winning 
depended on such nicety, that a general quarrel 
arose ; partisans took up favourite sides, and with 



138 



UP THE NILE. 



the principals it seemed as if nothing short of 
murder could finish it. The loser cried, screamed, 
and gesticulated in his rags ; until a grave old 
passer-by was called on by all parties to give his 
decision. When he had done this the party broke 
up, their feelings being evidently too strong to con- 
tinue any game of chance; the winner's side shout- 
ing and laughing in mad glee, the loser roaring in 
tears and refusing all comfort. These violent fits of 
rage, succeeded by showers of tears, are characteristic 
of the people, and perhaps act as a safety-valve 
to their tempers. I was amused with an instance on 
board our own boat. Our captain gave some order 
to a sailor, to which he returned a careless reply, 
and did not move to execute it. On this, the 
captain laid down his pipe, and stalking towards him 
with much dignity, expostulated in two or three 
brief words, ending by slapping his face. The sailor, 
originally flushed and insubordinate, at once retired 
to the opposite side of the deck, threw himself into a 
corner, and burst into a flood of tears, which lasted a 
good quarter of an hour, and could not be stayed by 
the sympathetic addresses of his mates. We must 
imagine a similar scene enacted on board an English 
boat, to feel its full absurdity. 

In passing by the village we saw the ravages done 
by the river in its flow, after the inundation. It had 



MIETEH TO SIOUT. 



139 



washed away houses and walls, and torn up palm- 
trees by the roots ; some of the small passage-boats 
had been tossed on the banks, and the timbers 
strained into curves by the force of the water. Every 
year mischief of this kind occurs ; and as the stream 
in many places gradually encroaches on the banks, it 
saps and undermines the houses of towns, and gives 
them a singularly ruinous look, as we shall see higher 
up the river. 

About four miles farther, and we come in sight of 
the famous rock-cut tombs of Beni Hassan — the 
first great and curious antiquities to be met with 
since we left the Pyramids, and a foretaste of the 
interest that envelopes Thebes. These famous tombs 
have furnished us with the most ancient and curious 
representations we possess of the daily life of the 
ancient Egyptians in the Bible era, for at that early 
period were they executed. There is scarcely an 
incident in ordinary life that is not delineated on 
the walls of these wondrous old tombs \ or any of the 
games and amusements that were indulged in on the 
banks of the Nile, three thousand years ago, un- 
represented. 

They appear to have been chiefly noted by the 
travellers who visited Egypt before the present cen- 
tury, as the temporary homes of the anchorites who 
once made Egypt famous, Thus Norden says : — 



140 



UP THE NILE. 



""The mountains of this quarter are famous on 
account of the grottoes of holy hermits that have 
formerly made their abodes in them." Now, this 
part of their history is forgotten in the absorbing 
contemplation of the far more valuable pictorial 
histories on their walls. 

The position of these remarkable cave-sepulchres 




will be best understood by the above engraving from 
a sketch made on the Nile-boat. Advantage has 
been taken of the hardest strata in the limestone 
rock for their excavation, and they are at a consider- 
able eminence above the sandy plain. The houses 
to the spectator's right are the ruins of the village of 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 



141 



Beni-Hassan, which must have been large and popu- 
lous; but the inhabitants were of Arab descent,, 
and could not resist a constant warfare on all boats 
that passed them on the river, plundering the vessels 
and ill-treating, or even killing, the crew, if they 
attempted resistance. Complaints at last became so 
loud at Cairo that, eventually, Ibrahim Pasha took the 
matter in hand in the true Oriental style — sent off 
abundance of soldiers and a few cannon, drove out 
all the people at a moment's notice, and battered 
their houses into the ruin now presented. All the 
inhabitants were thus forced to vacate; many were 
killed ; such as remained had but the usual informal 
and summary trial, which only preceded execution 
by a few hours. A native assured us he was at 
one time in Siout when fifty of these thieves were 
hung in one day; the chief, or ringleader, the 
cleverest and most dangerous rogue of all, was after- 
wards caught, but he had money and influence 
enough to obtain a respite of his sentence from 
Cairo, which was forwarded in all haste to Siout, 
where he was incarcerated. It was at once placed 
in the governor's hands there; but he being con- 
vinced of the danger of letting such a rogue loose 
again, at once hurried him to execution, putting the 
respite in his pocket, and assuring the authorities that 
it came too late. 



142 



UP THE NILE. 



The inhabitants of this side of the river have 
always had a bad character ; they were mostly of 
Arab descent, wary and accomplished thieves ; who 
swam quietly to boats in the night and robbed as a 
professional avocation. Their notions were similar 
to those of a Scottish borderer in the middle ages ; 
and, like him, if they were pursued they had merely 
to cross the hills, and they were off safely to the 
desert, where it was useless to follow them. The 
boatmen at the present day retain so lively a sense 
of their past rascalities, that they never anchor on 
the eastern bank of the river if they can possibly 
avoid it. There is a local guard provided at each 
village, which can be had on the payment of a trifling 
fee, for the protection of the boat during the night. 
It consists of one or two men, as the traveller wishes, 
who are armed with muskets, and who occasionally 
discharge them to warn off thieves : they are equally 
useful to keep off dogs, who have sometimes a habit 
of indulging in continuous barking at a strange boat 
and its crew until midnight, and beyond, unless dis- 
persed to their own homes by a discharge of powder 
among them, which never fails in starting them. 

The series of tombs at Beni-Hassan are reached 
by pathways leading from the plain up the sloping 
sides of the debris of rock fallen from the cliff above 
them; these footpaths are often very ancient, and 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 



143 



are marked at intervals by large stones placed at 
their sides. A narrow platform rims along the front 
of the tombs, from which a strikingly characteristic 
and picturesque view of the windings of the Nile 
is obtained. The tombs are among the most 
remarkable in Egypt ; the earliest bears the date of 
43rd year of Osirtasen I. (1777 B.C.). The paintings 
are not in so good a state of preservation as I ex- 
pected to find them ; some are very fragmentary, 
others almost obliterated; many are wonderfully 
clear, and all unusually interesting as pictures of 
Egyptian life in the remote era when they were 
executed. Many are very delicately drawn in little 
more than outline ; all are mere water-colour paint- 
ings on stucco ; and it is wonderful that works 
executed before Joseph visited the land should still 
remain unspoiled, except by the educated barbarians 
of Europe, who cut and scrawl their abominable 
names on some of the most curious parts of the 
pictures. We shall find abundant reason to deplore 
this mania throughout our journey in Egypt, and 
in a great degree it destroys its pleasure ; for it is 
impossible to feel other than shame and anger at 
seeing this wanton and foolish mischief, done by 
persons who have not the excuse that a native might 
offer for doing it — an ignorance of their history or 
interest, and a religious dislike to pictures of that 



UP THE NILE. 



class. All persons who travel the Nile must be 
men of some station or property ; they do not 
belong to the poor or the ignorant classes, yet they 
have done, and are doing, more mischief to these 
ancient monuments within the last thirty years than 
have been done to them by the action of time, or 
the ignorance of Arab or Turk, during three thou- 
sand ! It might naturally be supposed that monu- 
ments so useful as these have been in testifying to 
the minute truth of Bible history, and of the oldest 
historians in the world, would be respected as an 
almost equally sacred bequest from the past. Yet 
men of learning, whose reputations have been made 
by the study and explication of these very monu- 
ments, have not scrupled to mutilate them in the 
most reckless way ; and men of title have not 
shamed to try for worthless immortality by cutting 
their names upon art-works so precious. Surely a 
rightly constituted mind would shrink from this 
disgraceful notoriety. The titled names are Italian, 
which makes the Vandalism more surprising \ but all 
Europe seems, by the names inscribed, to glory in 
the practice, against which the most indignant 
remonstrance should be raised, or in a very few 
years the world will only possess the pictured resem- 
blance of the works of art so wantonly and rudely 
destroyed, and that by nations who so loudly boast of 



MTNIEH TO SIOUT, 



145 



a march of intellect, and who are so ready to phari- 
saically revile the Oriental peoples. 

The most northern tomb, or that nearest to the 
visitor as he ascends the river, is the most interesting 
of the series, and the most elaborately decorated. 
A portico, supported by two columns, is in front of 
the entrance — a square door surrounded by lines of 
hieroglyphics. On entering, a grand hall or vaulted 
chamber opens to the view. It is supported by 
four massive columns, similar to those seen at the 
entrance ; each column has sixteen slightly-fluted 
sides, and supports an abacus, the whole bearing so 
striking a resemblance to the Doric order, that it is 
evident the Greeks obtained this their earliest archi- 
tectural style from such more ancient monuments. 
The triple vault of the ceiling is filled with coloured 
ornament, in compartments. In front of the 
entrance is a small shrine, which, like the entrance 
gate, is surrounded by lines of hieroglyphic inscrip- 
tion. Broken figures, a triad of divinities, still 
occupy the places where they were worshipped of 
old. Plate VII. is a general view of this interesting 
spot; to the right the broken pillar presents one 
of those melancholy instances of wanton, useless 
mischief, that have just been alluded to. The 
columns have been coloured to imitate red granite, 
also about three feet of the lower part of the walls ; 

H 



146 



UP THE NILE. 



above this, to the ceiling, they are laid out in long 
lines of figures, engaged in husbandry, fowling, fish- 
ing, and domestic occupations ; as well as wrestling, 
dancing, ball-play, and other amusements. On the 
side wall, to the right of the entrance, sits the owner 
of the tomb, to receive from his overseer an account 
of his flocks and herds, or his household goods. This 
being the principal figure, in accordance with the 
rule of ancient art, is of gigantic proportion — a great 
man was a large man, in the sight of the old world ; 
hence our popular tales of gigantic ancestors in all 
nations. We may consider these rooms as the 
chapels of cemeteries : the resting-places for the 
dead were excavated in pits beneath, and were 
entered by square shafts, in the sides of which holes 
were cut to facilitate descent. In some of these 
tombs we shall see these shafts opening to the 
mummy-pit below. The next chamber to this is 
much simpler in its style, has but a square door in 
the rock as an entrance, and little in the way of 
coloured decoration. It belonged, says "Wilkin- 
son, to a Nomarch, or provincial governor of this 
part of Egypt, as did most of these large tombs 
throughout the land. The proprietor is here intro- 
duced by his scribe to a procession of strangers, who 
weie once affirmed to represent the family of Abra- 
ham ; this tomb was said to be that of Joseph ; and 



MIX1EH TO SIOUT. 147 

we were led to believe that we saw him in one of the 
most interesting events of his life, depicted in his 
own time, and probably at his orders or expense. 
The fault of the French savans, who in the boldness 
of an ignorant infidelity brought forward the Ptole- 
maic zodiac at Dendera, as a most ancient relic of a 
people who lived in unrecorded ages, has here been 
rivalled bv the credulity which would find too much, 
and reduce the age of a monument to make it figure 
an. event of so private a nature that it was never 
likely to be represented on a monument at all. 
This (like the other) belonged to a local governor of 
this district, who was named Xehoth, and lived long 
before Joseph's era, as appears by the names and 
dates given upon these walls. 

Many of these tombs are mere square chambers ; 
the walls sometimes retain but a few fragments of 
the paintings which once covered them. As we pass 
southward they change in architectural character, 
exhibiting the earliest features of the Egyptian style. 
Our woodcut will show the striking difference be- 
tween them; the roof slopes at a very depressed 
angle from the centre to the sides, and is supported 
by a pediment, with flat pilasters at the sides, and 
columns in the midst, dividing the interior hori- 
zontally and not longitudinally, as in that engraved 
in our Plate. They are said to figure (rudely, it 

h 2 



148 



UP THE NILE. 



must be admitted) a group of the stem and bud 
of the lotus or papyrus, bound together beneath 
the buds, and based on a simple circular pedestal. 
They are the first germs of the beautiful capitals,, 
designed from native flowering plants, which we shall 
see in the temples of the upper country. In the 




foreground of our cut may be seen the shafts of 
entrance to the pits below, and the holes for descent 
already alluded to. 

Passing still towards the south, in our narrow 
pathway, we may enter tomb after tomb, as closely 
packed as houses in a modern street. In many 
the columns have been broken away and removed, 
probably to " grace " some European museum. 



MIXIEH TO SXOUT. 



149 



Unfortunately the tombs become less interesting, 
plainer, and more decayed, as we proceed; until 
they terminate at a rocky valley above the village. 
It is the best mode, therefore, to begin from this 
central point and walk northward, when they 
increase in interest to their culmination, in that 
which forms the subject of our Plate. We call this 
valley a central point, because other excavations 
extend beyond it nearly two miles. They are 
unworthy the exertion and fatigue of a visit ; one 
of them has an apsidal end, with an early Greek 
capital and moulding, which may lead to the infer- 
ence that it was a sacred " chapel in the rock/' with 
the early Christians of Egypt. But a more interest- 
ing relic is the cave of Diana, still existing in the 
ravine alluded to, and which, though fragmentary 
and unfinished, is a singularly curious relic of the 
ancient faith. It must be borne in mind that this 
is the Egyptian Diana, the lioness-headed goddess 
Pasht ; but from this mystic personage descended, 
by the revolution of the religious superstition of 
ages, the more modern and scriptural " Diana of the 
Ephesians." 

As we bid adieu to this interesting spot, it may 
be worth noting that its name is indicative of the 
tribe that founded it. The prefix Beni signifies 
€t sons of/' the second name distinguishing the head 



150 



UP THE NILE. 



of the tribe. Thus the names of most places on the 
river are translatable,, and some specimens may be 
useful to quote here,, as an aid to the traveller : a 
few instances of their combined use, as designations 
of places on the Nilej are given ; others Trill readily 
occur. The proper names of our European towns 
were similarly significant when originally bestowed ; 
but the changes of language and denizens have made 
most of them seem nothing but unmeaning designa- 
tions. 

Ain — a spring. (Ain Mousa, " Moses' Spring.") 
Abou — father. (Abonseer, Abou-Girgeh.) 
Bab — a gate. (Babzuweyleh, kc. at Cairo.) 
Bahr — canal. (Bahr Ynssuf.) 
Beled — country or district. 
Bender — a market town. 
Beni — "sons of." (Beni-Souef, Beni-Hassan.) 
Bir — a well. 

Birket—?, lake. (Birket-el-Hag.) 
Deir — a monastery. 
Gelel — a mountain. (Gebel-el-Tayr.) 
Gisr — a dyke or earthen wall. 

Gourna — a mountain promontory. (Gournou, Thebes.) 
Hagar — stone. (Hagar Silsilis.) 
Jez — an island. 

Kafir — a village. (Kafr Zayat.) 
Kah/i — a depot for merchandise. 
Kasr — a castle or fort. (Kasr-e-Sayad.) 
Keber — great. 
Keroun — low. 

Kom — a high mound. (Kom-Ombos.) 
Masara — a mill. (Masarah.) 



MTNIEH TO SIOUT. 



151 



Ras — headland or cape. 

Sheikh — a saint or elder. (Gebel Sheikh Emberak.) 
Sookh—a, street of shops, or market. 
Tel— hill. (Tel-el- Amarna.) 

Wady — valley. (Wady halfeh, " the grass valley.") 

The eastern bank of the stream still presents the 
most interesting features to the antiquary. The 
rocks are cut with tombs and votive chapels ; but the 
exploration requires a large amount of time, and 
ensures great fatigue in the sandy tract where they 
occur. It often happens that an excavation which 
looks most promising from the river, turns out to be 
a simple quarry, unworthy the visit. The interest 
of many, too, entirely depends upon some point of 
value to the Egyptian student ; but not of the 
slightest interest to the general traveller, who may 
be well content with the more important works that 
await him on all sides in his upward course. 

At Sheikh Abadeh, we see the ruined site of the 
Roman city of Antinopolis ; a city which owed its 
origin to the Emperor Hadrian, whose favourite, 
Antinous, having drowned himself in the Nile at 
this spot, with a superstitious belief that thereby he 
should secure Hadrian's happiness, that emperor 
deified his abominable friend, and founding this 
city, raised altars and instituted games in his honour. 
Remains of a theatre and hippodrome, fragments of 
temples, and indications of streets, are all that 



152 



UP THE NILE. 



can now be traced of what was once a beautiful 
city. Every year reduces these fragments, for as 
stone may be wanted in the neighbourhood, these 
ruins are put under contribution to supply it, and 
much has been also burnt for lime. It is fortunate 
that the French made and published accurate draw- 
ings and measurements of the finest of these 
remains, which existed so short a time ago. The 
portico of the theatre appears to have been very 
fine, with enriched Corinthian capitals ; others, 
having volutes at their bases as well as their sum- 
mits, were dedicated to the Emperor Alexander 
Severus, after the fashion of the Column of Phocas 
in the Forum at Rome. The whole of these remains, 
as delineated in the Description de VEgypte, are very 
striking. It is melancholy now to look on them, 
and to read Wilkinson's description of w r hat he saw 
here in 1822, and to remember that all have been 
destroyed for such worthless purposes as the manu- 
facture of lime, or the building of canal bridges. 
The destruction of monuments within the last half 
century is lamentable ; but still more so is the fact 
of their slow destruction by the yearly wanton 
mischief of European visitors. 

Since Wilkinson noted the remains on the river, 
and even since the publication of his handbook in 
1858, several of the antiquities he mentions have 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 



153 



been destroyed or injured. The Turks are to be 
blamed for much; they, like the Romans of the 
middle ages, could not resist the temptation of using 
the ready-hewn materials of the old buildings in 
the construction of the new. As the Coliseum re- 
appeared in the Barberini Palace, the temples of the 
old Egyptian faith served the viler uses of modern 
wants. Thus, at Sheikh-Fodl, above Abou-Girgeh, 
there stood two small temples, which have been 
completely destroyed within the last ten years, to 
construct with their stones a sugar manufactory at 
Minieh. Beyond Serareeh were two painted grottoes 
of the early time of Pthahmen, the son of Barneses 
the Great (b.c 1245-1237), which Wilkinson speaks 
of as of much interest ; one was utterly destroyed 
by the Turks after he had inspected them ; the 
other he succeeded in saving, but only after the 
portico had been entirely ruined. He also notes 
the existence, some years since, of very interesting 
sculptures at Kom-Ahmar near Metahara, and that 
" they have been broken up by the Turks for lime." 
Science owes a debt of gratitude to such men as 
Wilkinson ; and all travellers who carry his hand- 
book cannot fail to feel it daily. Few can appreciate, 
without a personal trial, the difficulty attendant on 
such labours, in a climate like that of Egypt. To 
travel painfully over dry and dusty roads, to toil in 

h 3 



154 



UP THE NILE. 



the sun up rugged mountain sides, — sometimes with 
little reward for the labour, and always with the cer- 
tainty of great bodily and mental fatigue, — is a task 
few would have the wish to set themselves, and fewer 
still the perseverance to cany out. There is a quiet 
heroism in this, also deserving the victor's wreath. 

About tw r o miles beyond this is a small settlement 
of Christians called Deir-e-Nakkl, behind which are 
some curious grottoes w r ith interesting paintings. 
One, representing the mode by which the ancient 
Egyptians moved their colossal statues, has furnished 
Wilkinson with one of his most curious engravings, 
and which may be seen in his great work. (Series I., 
vol. iii. p. 238.) 

We now pass E cranio on, a pleasantly-situated 
town, chiefly remarkable for the large sugar and rum 
manufactory, established about fifty years ago by an 
English gentleman, named Brine. The building, 
WTth its tall chimneys, is also as perfectly English as 
if it stood in Lancashire. At Oshmounein, on the 
same western bank, at some distance inland, are 
remains of the ancient Hermopolis. The luxuriance 
of this side of the river is perfectly Arcadian : groves 
of sycamore, gum, and palm-trees, fields of sugar- 
cane, corn, and esculents, all vividly green in the 
glorious sunshine, are most pleasant to the eye, after 
the flatness and aridity of the lower parts of the 
river. At Daroot-el-Shereef we pass the mouth of 



MXNIEH TO SIOUT. 



155 



the Bahr Yussuf. a canal which carries the high 
water of the Nile along the land at the base of the 
Libyan hills, from this place, beyond Cairo and the 
fork of the Delta, emptying itself into the Rosetta 
branch at Alkam. During its whole length it is of 
the utmost value in carrying the waters where tkev 
could not else be obtained, and assisting in the most 
important manner the labours of the husbandman ; 
by means of dams the water may be retained after 
it has sunk from its high level. Its name preserves 
the tradition of its bein£f one of the useful works 
originated by, and carried out during the rule of, the 
patriarch Joseph. The same important work is 
carried from this spot further south, by the Souhadj 
Canal, which ends at Farshout, midway between 
Girgeh and Keneh. By means of both, the plain of 
Egypt is thus irrigated for the length of more than 
two hundred and fifty miles. Canals of a similar 
kind are now in course of construction on the plains 
of the eastern banks ; they are made by the forced 
labour of the fellahs or peasants, each village by 
which it passes being obliged to send its quota of 
workmen, and provide them with tools and food, until 
a certain portion is completed which has been com- 
menced by the previous gang, and will be continued 
by a succession of other labourers, who complete 
only as much as waters their district : the irrigation 



156 



CP THE NILE. 



being considered by the government as payment for 
tlieir labour^ which is constantly supervised and en- 
forced by taskmasters, who smoke all day in dirty 
di^nitv anions; tlie earth, and sand-kills. 

Tke Arabian mountains again approach the river 
at Isbayda. At Gebel-el-Skeikli Said, a custom is 
observed by tke boatmen of throwing bread to birds 
of tke gull kind ; who fly after tke boats, and pick 
it up from tke waters, retiring with it to a ruined 
tomb they make their koine, kalf way up tke moun- 
tain. It is a plain cubical building, with a domed 
roof, tke usual form of all suck erections in tke 
East, and covers tke body of tke saint who gives 
name to tke mountain. Here lie lived tke life of an 
ascetic, in one of tke many caves still to be seen, 
and amused kimself by feeding tke birds who flocked 
to kis solitary home. On dying, ke bequeathed the 
care of his feathered favourites to the boatmen of 
the Nilej vrho piously carry out his vrishes, believing 
it most unlucky to neglect or injure them. They 
also firmly believe that the birds reverently place 
the bread upon the holy man's tomb before they eat 
it. They are rewarded for this charity and faith by 
seeing the birds entering the tomb, where probably 
their young await a share of the repast. Nothing 
can shake their belief in this legend, when they 
witness it thus confirmed, u with their own eyes." 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 157 

At Tel-el-Amama are the ruins of a very ancient 
city and sepulchres hi the rock, -where a people were 
buried who appear to have been invaders of the land. 
Judging from the representations in these remark- 
able tombs, they appear to have been an Eastern 
race, who brought with them the tyranny and 
oppression which characterised the Turkish tribes. 
They were worshippers, too, of the heavenly bodies ; 
their religion differing from that of the native 
Egyptians. Their princes are figured worshipping the 
sun under forms not seen elsewhere, the rays ending 
in human hands, which present to them the symbol 
of life eternal. They appear to have been thoroughly 
hated by the Egyptians, who have erased their names 
wherever they appeared upon these monuments. 
These remarkable records of a race who may have 
been the (C shepherd-kings " of the desert, noted by 
early historians, seem to have excited the interest of 
the Greeks, who have left inscriptions on these walls 
indicative of their impressions ; but they appear to 
have been unknown to modern travellers, until 
Wilkinson discovered them by accident in 182-1. 
Being distant from the river, the Nile boatmen and 
ordinary guides failed to notice them. 

On reaching Gebel Abou-Fayda, we shall find the 
Arabian chain presenting precipitous cliffs, more 
picturesque than those at Gebel- el-Tayr. The rocks 



158 UP THE NILE. 

assume more fanciful forms, owing to the waved 
character of their stratification. Sometimes they 
seem to start perpendicularly from the water ; at 
others, they are varied by constant detrition, which 
piles their base with masses of rock, or mounds, on 
which scanty grass and a few trees grow. The water 
has worn many caves at their base ; others above 
have been natural fissures enlarged for the residence 
of the early Coptic anchorites, who have made Egypt 
famous in monkish annals, and conferred saintlv 
honours on the useless lives of these wretched 
ascetics. The evening was closing as w r e passed 
these rocks, and the sun set as we sailed towards the 
end of the ridge which again receded from the river. 
Under these high and desolate cliffs, a small bank 
was formed by the fragments of the rock and the 
mud of the inundations in a half circular recess, 
where we descried a bright fire lighted, and some 
little black figures leaping and running about it. 
Opposite, a boat was anchored, which proved to be a 
native slaver, whose freight was African children 
(about sixty in all), who were on their road to Cairo 
for sale, and whose captain was allowing this exercise 
on their voyage in a very safe place, where they 
could not escape or be very generally seen. This 
traffic is not publicly allowed, nor is there a slave- 
market there, as there was some twenty years ago; 



MIXIEH TO SIOUT. 159 

but privately, the sale of children is still carried on. 
Eunuchs and general servants are thus obtained. 
The door-keepers at Alexandria and Cairo are in- 
variably blacks ; they are well dressed, well fed, and 
have nothing to do but idle in the doorway, and 
chat with other servants and passers-by, as they keep 
watch. The children we saw were many of them 
sold by their parents, and they seemed to have no 
regrets in leaving home and country ; they were run- 
ning about, laughing and playing, and would, in all 
probability, be infinitely better off in Cairo. They 
are always kindly treated, and as they are generally 
faithful and attached, they rise to good positions — 
always better than that of the Egyptian peasant, 
for they never, like him, labour hard and fare badly ; 
if they become old without freedom, the Koran com- 
mands that they be maintained comfortably till death. 
They possess, in fact, the same right to proper 
treatment as the children belonging to the family of 
those who purchase them, and who, by that act, 
put themselves in the place of parents. The master 
has the right to their labour, or what it brings ; and 
also what belongs to them, as he pays their taxes, 
and provides for their wants; but he may not 
mutilate or kill them, and they have redress at law 
for any unnecessary severity : much stress cannot, 
however, be laid on this fact, in a land where justice 



160 



UP THE NILE. 



is capriciously dealt, and the legal quota of fine or 
punishment is only half Trhat is demanded when 
whites are similarly treated. The real truth seems 
to be that the black natives feel more dependent 
than the white, that they make better and more 
attached servants, that the Egyptians prefer them, 
as more honest and trustworthy than the poorer 
classes of their own people, or the Levantines, who 
would not so implicitly obey, as the blacks will. 
Hence the bond between them is the strongest of 
any — that of mutual interest. 

Still, let us look in this wav at the bright side of 
slavery as we may, it cannot be for one moment 
allowed, that the difference of colour or intellect 
can give a right to any tribe of man to enslave 
another tribe. The very fact of parents selling 
children to slavery, and thus destroying the most 
holv ties of nature — of ambuscades by strangers to 
kidnap children, of the horrors they suffer in the 
journey from home, of the cruelty and death that 
await them in fitting them for the seraglio, — the 
wars among the Nubian chiefs to obtain prisoners 
for the market, the entire absence of the merest 
decent human morality, and the misery and crime 
that come in place of it, all proclaim, with trumpet- 
tongue, against this phase of man's inhumanity to 
man. 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 161 

Let us cast our eves from the evil things and look 
around us, when the dawn breaks, on the works of 
man ; s Maker. We shall find a new feature in the 
scenery of the river now. The date-palm, which, 




with its tufted head and rich cluster of fruit, has 
almost monopolised attention, now finds a brother in 
the Doum-palm, a tree never seen in Lower Egypt, 
or beyond the northern boundary of the Thebaid ; 
hence it is sometimes termed the Theban-palm. It 



162 



UP THE NILE. 



differs frora the date-palm in many important points. 
Instead of having a simple trunk and no lateral 
branches, the main stem divides into two of eqnal 
size and strength ; each of these again branches 
into two others; this regular duplication of its 
branches being a curious invariable rule of growth 
in the tree. The terminal branches are crowned 
with a group of from twenty to thirty fan-shaped 
leaves ; at the base of them the fruit grows, which 
is stringy and dry, about the size of a large apple, 
but more elongated ; it becomes of a rich brown 
colour, and when ripe and soft is eaten by the 
peasantry and children, and is said to have the 
flavour of gingerbread. It becomes excessively hard, 
if allowed to dry upon the tree, and has been used 
as a socket for drills from the most ancient times by 
the carpenters of Egypt, whose descendants continue 
the custom. The wood of the tree is less fibrous 
and porous than that of the date-palm ; it can be 
cut into planks, and is used for building purposes by 
the carpenters of Upper Egypt. 

The river winds very much here,, and is not 
without a considerable amount of pastoral beauty as 
well as grandeur, from the rocky promontories 
which advance and recede, as we maintain our 
course, with a frequency that destroys the usual 
monotony. Wilkinson notes that "the difference 



MINIEH TO SIOUT. 



163 



between the low and high Xile in this part of Egypt, 
is twenty-one feet three inches, judging from the 
highest mark made by the water on the cliffs of 
Gebel Abou-Fayda, which rise abruptly from the 
river." At an earlier period it ran more to the 
Arabian side ; now it encroaches so much upon the 
other, that the towns are^ yearly in danger from it, 
and ranges of houses are undermined and swept 
away. This is the case at Manfaloot, the town we 
next approach, and which was described by Pococke, 
in the early part of the last century, as a mile distant 
from the river. Now, more than half of it has been 
carried away, and the ruined houses show how brief 
is the tenure of the remainder. It has no attractions 
to arrest the stranger, unless he wishes to make 
a visit to the celebrated crocodile caves in its 
vicinity, and rejoin his boat at a lower bend of the 
stream. 

The caves are distant about seven miles from 
Manfaloot, and to reach them you have to cross the 
plain and ascend the mountain ; the desert here is 
composed of fine fragments of clear spar ; it is 
intensely hot and dazzling, and sharp to the naked 
feet of the attendants who run beside you. The 
entrance to the pit is on the flat summit of the hills, 
and is a mere square hole, about eight feet long and 
twelve feet deep, into which the Arabs jump, and 



164 



UP THE NILE. 



then help yon to descend. A very narrow apertnre 
is on one side, into which you prepare to crawl, 
divesting yourself of all superfluous clothing. Lan- 
terns are then lighted, as it would be dangerous to 
carry torches amid so much dried cloth and asphalte, 
which enwrap the defunct crocodiles below. The 
caves are of limestone, not fashioned by art in any 
way, and stretch underground for many miles. With 
the usual exaggeration of the East, the guides ask 
you, on entering, if you wish to come out at Assouan 
or Cairo ! They have been explored from seven to 
eight miles, but are unvarying, except in accidental 
height or width. The way is tortuous and narrow \ 
masses of fallen rock half choke some passages, and 
stalactites hang from the roof in places, and seem to 
oppose progress. Occasionally the traveller has to 
squeeze his way between piles of foetid mummies, 
and this rough ceiling • the smell is generlly intense, 
the heat excessive, and the dust from the mummy- 
cloth choking in its effects. Bathed in perspiration 
you gasp for breath, and inhale the smallest possible 
quantity of vital air. There are only two or three 
caves in which it is possible to stand upright. All 
are crammed with mummied crocodiles ; among them 
are a very few human mummies, supposed to be 
those of the priests who attended on the sacred 
reptiles. The crocodiles vary in size, from creatures 



MIXIEH TO SIOUT. 165 

a few inches long, just emerged from the egg, to full 
grown ones, measuring eighteen or twenty feet from 
nose to tail. These large ones are^carefully swathed 
in bands of cloth, as represented in our cut ; the 
smaller ones are also bandaged, but are packed in 
layers, with palm branches between ; and the smallest 
of them done up in little bundles. 




There is danger in exploring these pits from the 
bats, which rush out of corners in considerable num- 
bers and extinguish lights • but the greatest danger 
results from the easy possibility of losing the way 
among so many tortuous, narrow chambers — an 
accident which has nearly happened to several 
travellers, among whom was the American Legh, 
who has left a graphic account of the horrors of his 
visit, when both his Arab guides were stifled, and he 
barely escaped with life. A friend who explored 
them last spring, emerged by a fortunate accident : 
he had struck his arm against a projecting mummy, 
w T hich almost blocked the passage, but enabled him 



166 



UP THE NILE. 



to detect the riglit one by that means, when the 
guides had lost their way, and gave themselves up to 
abject despair. He describes it as a roost extra- 
ordinary, but most disagreeable and dangerous 
adventure. 

The crocodile was anciently worshipped in this 
district, and, as a sacred animal, infested the river. 
JElian gives a striking picture of the nuisance thus 
generated ; and assures us that in the vicinity of the 
towns where they were fed and worshipped, the 
creatures increased so greatly, that it was not safe 
for any one to walk near the river's edge, to draw- 
water from the stream, or, worse than all, attempt to 
wash the feet. They are by no means bold at 
present, and only do mischief when they can do it 
slily. They occasionally steal a sheep ; and a short 
time before I went up the Nile, had made a meal of 
an unfortunate man, who had been working at a 
shadoof, raising water. Their long jaws will enable 
them to reach at a leg, and pull a man into the river, 
before he can know his danger. There is an Arab 
saying which assures us that the king of the 
crocodiles holds his court at the bottom of the Nile, 
at Siout ; but thev are now verv rarely seen north 
of Thebes, and not generally met with north of 
Esne. The ancients gave as a reason for the origin 
of the worship, the protection they were against 



MINIE1I TO SIOUT. 167 

robbers from the deserts on both sides the river, 
who dared not attempt to swim the stream in the 
night, owing to the number and rapacity of these 
creatures : and so the fields and villages were pro- 
tected from ravages, which would occur if they 
were destroyed. Such is the explanation of Dio- 
dorus. to which others have been added by a French 
philosopher. M. Pauw, who observes that the towns 
most remarkable for the worship of the creature, 
were situated on canals, at some distance from the 
Xile : and as the visits of the crocodiles to them 
would be considered by all as a lucky omen, and 
their presence in any stream a proof of its purity, 
the priestly government was certain that ail such 
canals would be kept in good order, and a sanitary 
religion be the consequence. This establishment 
of one nuisance to get rid of another, was not, for- 
tunately, religiously followed elsewhere; for, out 
of their own district, the men of an opposite faith 
destroyed them mercilessly. 

Between iManfaloot and Siout the river winds 
very much, and though the scenery is pleasing, it 
becomes very tedious to bend backward and forward, 
opposed often by contrary winds, for very many miles 
after the minarets of the latter town are in sight. 
But " time and the hour get through the longest 
day," as Shakespeare phrases it, and the traveller 



168 



UP THE NILE. 



lias no doubt by this time laid in some small stock 
of the Oriental patience, that is so necessary to 
consort with Oriental sluggishness. Let him, like 
the Dutchman immortalised by Knickerbocker, 
reckon distances by the number of pipes his boatmen 
will smoke ; and he will calmly end in finding his 
boat at the nearest landing-place to Siout, and this 
capital of Upper Egypt awaiting his exploration. 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



169 



CHAPTER VI. 

SIOUT TO KENEH. 

All travellers agree in praising the situation of Siout. 
Placed in a rich and fertile spot, it has a luxuriant 
surrounding greenness most welcome to the eye. 
A pleasant ride of two miles, on a raised winding 
causeway, leads to the gate of the city. This road 
is sheltered by trees, which cast their agreeable shade 
across the path ; the embankment protects travellers 
from danger when the Nile overflows the low lands. 
The bright colour of the verdure everywhere is most 
refreshing to the eye, after the sandy, dusty environs 
of other towns we have visited. Ireland is cele- 
brated for its " emerald" hues in vegetation, but 
the green of Siout has more of the sun in it ; it is a 
richer, warmer colour. The trees and shrubs in our 
northern islands can scarcely be called green, there 
is too much blue in their colouring. The horror of 
the Latins at the cold, black forests of Germania 

i 



170 



UP THE NILE. 



might readily give credence to the tales of wild and 
mystic evil spirits, which originated in the gloom : 
the southern climate and its grateful woods were 
naturally peopled by Pan and the wood nymphs. Thus 
superstition becomes essentially a thing toned by 
climate ; and if we imagine any ethereal beings about 
Siout, we should onlv dream that thev were the good 
fairies of our childhood, as they appeared to us in the 
well-beloved " Arabian Nights' Entertainments. " 

Alas, for dreams of happiness and pleasure in the 
good world God has made for us ! Man has been 
made ruler, and has rudely blighted all its goodness 
for his fellow man — ruthlessly decreeing misery and 
desolation in the midst of joy and plenty. It was 
thus in Siout, on the morning when we first entered 
it ; the curse of a despotic government made itself 
painfully apparent as we came to its gates. A poor, 
half-frantic woman rushed forth shrieking, and fell 
fainting beside the outer wall. On passing the gate, 
we saw a great crowd, principally composed of 
women, who were flying from the soldiery employed 
in driving them, with long heavy sticks, from the 
entrance to an apartment in front of which long lines 
of conscripts were waiting their turn for examination. 
The wretched men, seized suddenly in their village 
homes, were fastened in long lines by chains, like 
criminals ; and the unfortunate spectators were their 



SIOUT TO KENBH. 



171 



wives and children, or the elder members of their 
families, whose very existence depended on their 
labour, and who rejoiced over their rejection by the 
examining officers, or shrieked over their condemna- 
tion to military servitude. So hateful is this con- 
scription to the people, that it is no uncommon thing 
for parents to deprive their male infants of an eye, 
or let disease take its course in doing so. Mothers 
often cut from their children the two upper joints 
of the right forefinger, so that they may be disabled 
from firing a musket ; of the fourteen sailors in our 
boat three were thus maimed for life ; and that may 
be taken as a fair average for the Egyptian fellahs 
generally. The least deprivation is the extraction of 
the front teeth to prevent the biting of cartridges. 
Such are the miserable shifts the poor people have 
recourse to, to keep their sons to the ill-requited 
labours of peasant life, and save their wretched 
homes from utter desolation. 

Warburton has told the effect of all this tyranny 
in a few striking words : — " Five hundred thousand 
souls have withered from Egypt within the last ten 
years, under the blight of conscription and oppres- 
sion." 

The dusty streets of Siout are a rapid disenchant- 
ment for such as would dream of pleasant sojourn 
in the city that looks so beautiful from the out- 

i 2 



172 



UP THE NILE. 



skirts. Tall, crude brick or rand walled houses, 
dingy, dirty lanes, a labyrinth of unpicturesque 
roadway, is all that greets the eye. Here and there 
a carved doorway tells of better-class residences, 
which, as usual, are carefully hidden from the street. 
Sometimes an open gate gives a glimpse into a fore- 
court, overshadowed with palm or acacia trees. The 
absence of flowers and flower gardens is a want felt 
everywhere; there seems little or no taste for the 
beauties of nature among the large mass of the 
people. Gardens, however small, seem to be only 
for grandees. A cottage garden is a thing unknown 
in Egypt. Tillage life is the very reverse of poetic 
picturing here. 

Some of the mosques are large and handsome, 
and the palace of the Governor of Upper Egypt, 
which adjoins the gate, has much to please the eye ; 
but generally there is less to employ the pencil in 
the streets of Siout, than in many towns of inferior 

rank. Its trade is considerable, for it is not only 

j y 

the emporium for the supply of merchandise, from 
Cairo and Lower Egypt, for the use of the upper 
country, but it carries on an extensive business with 
that district also, for the produce wanted in return ; 
but its most important trade is that with the people 
who reside in the interior of Africa. Caravans cross 
the Great Oasis from Darfur, and bring much of 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



173 



value — ivory, ostrich feathers, furs, drugs — destined 
to find their way over Europe. A busier town than 
Siout is not upon the Nile. Its artisans are all 
industrious, and there is a quickness about their 
movements not to be found elsewhere, even in Cairo. 
There is one branch of manufacturing art in which 
they stand pre-eminent, and this is, ornamental 
pottery ; it is constructed from a fine clay obtained 
in the immediate neighbourhood, and is worked up 
into a variety of articles much prized by natives, and 
equally sought after by travellers. The surface of 
this pottery is coloured red or 
black, and receives a fine glaze, 
giving it a remarkable resem- 
blance to the far-famed red 
ware of the Romans, popularly 
known as Samian ware. The 
most ambitious works of the 
Siout potteries are water- 
bottles and basins; they are 
remarkable for the elaboration 
of their decorations, which is 
produced partly by mould, but 
more generally by hand, as in 
the example we engrave, where 
ingenious manipulation and a 
correct eye alone have completed the work. There 





174 



UP THE NILE. 



is a large demand for these and other productions of 
the Siout potters ; and it is sometimes difficult to get 
good earthenware in the bazaars, now that so many 
travellers visit the Nile, and the large majority seek 
to supply themselves with specimens. The potters 
have latterly taken to imitate European articles of 
use, such as candlesticks, tumblers, &c, upon which 
they engraft native ornament ; but these things have 
a strange hybrid look, while their more genuine 
works have frequently great and peculiar merits. 
The great staple manufacture, however, is pipe- 
bowls, which are made in enormous quantities, and 
have the deserved reputation of being the best in 
Egypt. They are carried far and wide, and rival 
the bowls made at Constantinople ; from which they 
may be distinguished by a deeper tone of red and 
an absence of gilded ornament. The London tobacco 
shops are seldom without specimens ; but they are 
unfitted for smoking the heavy tobaccos of Europe, 
though admirably adapted for Latakia, and the light 
leaf of the East. Busy groups of men and boys may 
be seen in all the bazaars at work on these bowls, 
and a minute division of labour takes place in their 
fabrication, which would not disgrace an English 
factory, and ensures perfection, by apportioning each 
person that which his constant practice gives him 
most power to complete properly. The pipe-makers 



pi. vni. 




Tmcerrb Brooks . imp 

BAZAAR , SI OUT. 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 175 

exercise much fancy in their art, and are constantly 
varying their designs. The last novelty was the 
production of a very large 
bowl, with wheels on each 
side moving freely on a pivot, 
all made in red or black clay : 
it is not without its merit on 
the score of utility ; for pipe- 
stems, as used by gentlemen, are generally from 
four to six feet in length, and they are frequently 
pushed toward an attendant to be refilled, as the 
smoker sits on the divan. 

The Bazaar is of very great extent — a winding 
covered way, between well-stocked shops of all 
kinds, from whence smaller bazaars and open markets 
branch off on both sides. Ventilation is secured by 
trap-doors in the wooden roof, constructed so that 
they may be opened and shut at pleasure, by ropes 
which regulate them. Plate VIII. is copied from a 
sketch taken about midway in the place. In the 
foreground is the shop of a coffee-seller, a most 
indispensable person in establishments of this kind ; 
for every shopkeeper at once sends to him for coffee, 
as soon as a customer comes to his shop. A small 
fire is constantly kept lighted, and the coffee remains 
hot by standing on the stove. A variety of pots are 
devoted to its use ; the smaller one with the spout 




176 



UP THE NILE. 



and handle, seen in front of the lower compartment 
of the stove, in our view, is used for boiling small 
quantities. The larger pots are used to carry larger 
quantities to customers. When single cups only are 
offered in the bazaar, they are brought in the hand. 
The open wooden rack or cupboard, in the wall 
above the stove, is used to keep the cups in. The 
porcelain cups are ranged on one, and the metal cups 
on another ; the latter is generally covered with 
perforated ornament, which keeps it cool while held 
in the hand, its use being entirely that of receiving 
the porcelain cup with the hot coffee, which could 
not otherwise be held. On the sides of this cup- 
board, its master has chalked his score against 
customers whom he has trusted ; and beside it are 
shelves for pipes; these he also supplies them. 
Some are the narghileys, used by the poorer classes, 
formed simply from a cocoa-nut, made to hold the 
water through which the smoke is drawn by simple 
tubes of hollow cane. A superior sort has a glass 
receptacle for the water, and a long flexible tube for 
inhaling the smoke ; the tobacco is placed in a metal 
cup on the summit of the water-bottle, and lighted by 
a piece of charcoal placed upon it, the smoker draw- 
ing the smoke downwards through the water, which 
cools it, going through the long tube to his mouth. 
The shopkeeper to the left in our view is using one. 



SIOUT TO KBNEH. 



177 



This Eastern custom of coffee-drinking and smoking 
lias met with an overdue amount of vituperation 
from Europeans — always so ready to compound for 
their own sins by denouncing those of their fellow- 
men. If we had the common honesty to examine 
any London street, or take the statistics of any large 
town, and reckon the number of public-houses, and 
the quantity of intoxicating liquors drank, to the 
ruin of bodily and mental energy, we should find 
Eastern coffee-shops more moral and healthful insti- 
tutions. AVe must remember that they take the 
place of the grog-shop ; and we may ask ourselves if 
the Mohammedan institution is not better than the 
Christian, and more in the true spirit of Christi- 
anity. The quantity of coffee contained in a cup is 
never more than two table spoonfulls. In the same 
way tobacco is sparingly used • the pipe contains 
but a few whiffs, indulged in slowly, the pipe often 
laid down for a few minutes between each; the 
tobacco being of fragrant mildest kind. 

This is not the place to enter into controversy on 
tobacco or coffee ; very little temper or reason is 
displayed by their opponents ; but it is impossible to 
speak of Eastern life without noticing these com- 
monest and innocent solaces, left to a much-maligned 
and oppressed people. The testimony of travellers 
who have resided among them for a long time, may 

i3 



178 



UP THE NILE. 



be taken in their favour ; and among them is no 
better authority than Lane, who in his notes to the 
"Arabian Nights' Entertainments," observes: — "The 
practice of drinking wine in private, and by select 
parties, is far from being uncommon among modern 
Muslims, ^though certainly more so than it was 
before the introduction of tobacco into the East, in 
the beginning of the seventeenth century of our era ; 
for this herb being in a slight degree exhilirating, 
and at the same time soothing, and unattended by 
the injurious effects that result from wine, is a 
sufficient luxury to many who, without it, would 
have recourse to intoxicating beverages, merely to 
pass away hours of idleness." Miss Martineau, 
with unusual liberality in a lady, acknowledges the 
utility and comfort of tobacco in the East ; and 
advises all ladies with whom it agrees, to continue 
the custom in spite of Western prejudices. 

Coffee does not now want defenders ; but it was 
once assailed as violentlv as tobacco, and all sorts of 
foolish imputations placed to its charge, which would 
be hardly believed, did they not exist in print to 
refer to. Homoeopathists are now fully aware of 
its effects on the system ; they consider it a curative 
agent. 

Siout is the Lycopolis of the Greeks and Romans, 
but there are no traces of its ancient state, with the 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



179 



exception of the tombs on the rock sides which, over- 
hang the valley near the modern town. They are of 
profound antiquity, and well worth the toil of an 
ascent. Upon the sides of some few are sculptured 
representations of military and other scenes ; others 
have ornamental enrichments, the apparent originals 
of the decoration which afterwards became the cha- 
racteristic of Greek art. Miss Martineau has given 
their interesting historv concisely and well : — " In 
the pits of these caves were the mummies lying 
when Cambyses was busy at Thebes, overthrowing 
the Colossus in the plain. And long after came the 
upstart Greeks, relating here their personal adven- 
tures in India, under their great Alexander, and 
calling the place Lycopolis, and putting a wolf on 
the reverse of their local coins. And long after came 
the Romans, and called Lycopolis the ancient name 
of the place, and laid the ashes of their dead in some 
of the caves. And long after came the Christian 
anchorites, and lived a hermit life in these rock 
abodes. Among them was John of Lycopolis, who 
was consulted as an oracle by the Emperor Theo- 
dosius, as by many others, from his supposed know- 
ledge of futurity. A favourite eunuch, Eutropius, 
was sent hither from Constantinople, to learn from 
the hermit what would be the event of the civil war. 
I once considered the times of the Emperor Theo- 



180 



UP THE NILE. 



dosius old times. How modern do they appear on 
the hill-side at Siout ! " 

These hermits figure largely in saintly records of 
the Eoman Catholic Church ; far away from the 
haunts of their fellow men they lived a morose life 
of grim austerity, debarring themselves not only of 
the simplest comforts, but of the ordinary decencies 
of life. Half-starved, sometimes diseased, always 
unwashed and covered with vermin, when nature 
was at last worn out thev died, in what Eibadaneira 
and Butler call " the odour of sanctity, ;; and ask us 
to reverence. John of Lycopolis lived in his cell 
above fifty years, never opening his door or taking 
any food which required cooking, always carefully 
abstaining from looking on a female face, and merely 
opening his window on Saturdays and Sundays to 
the superstitious crowd who flocked from all quarters 
to him. The austerities of the saintly hermits of 
Egypt, their penances in the caves and deserts, are 
given in sickening details by the authors above 
named. One of the most famed, St. Anthony, has 
been a favourite with artists who delight in the wild 
and monstrous : his temptations have furnished a 
fertile theme for the most grotesque imaginings, as 
far from true religious feeling as was the career of 
these mistaken hermits. 

In the pits and caves of this hill-side are many 



SIOUT TO KENBH. 



181 



mummied wolves, which were sacred to Anubis, once 
the titular deity of the place ; from these wolves came 
the Greek term for the city. The view from this 
mountain is extremely fine : the picturesque city in 
the foreground, the winding of the river, the fertile 
valley, and the varying rocks which bound it, present 
a coup d'ceil unrivalled for interest and beauty by 
any other town on the Xile. 

There is an old legend that Siout was the residence 
of the Holy Family during their sojourn in Egypt. 
The honour is also claimed for Old Cairo ; the deci- 
sion must depend on caprice, where no evidence 
can be adduced. 

A ride over pleasant plains will again bring us to 
the port of El Hainra, and our boatmen may again 
prepare to ascend the stream, rowing to the music 
of their own voices, according to their invariable 
custom. Nothing is done by them without song 
and chorus ; and by the time the traveller has 
reached Minieh, he has been sufficiently familiar 
with the monotonous chants they never tire in 
performing. The subjects of these songs are often 
of the silliest and most uninteresting character, and 
they have heard them over and over again for years ; 
but a sense of tedium never seems to be felt by 
any one, for they listen approvingly, evince ever fresh 
interest, and join in chorus with untiring vigour. 



182 UP THE NILE. 

All these songs are sung to a low, monotonous 
chant, sometimes with a most sentimental air, and 
with a tremour of voice on certain notes, which is 
esteemed as a great beauty. One line only is sung 
by the stroke-oar, when the whole of the rowers 
join a chorus, which may be meant for admiration or 
assent, but which exactly resembles the detractive 
groan uttered by the English at political meetings, 
to speakers whose sentiments they disapprove. 
When we started from Boulak, the first song sung 
was one of good hope for the voyage, and praying 
that " God give the victory " to its temporary pro- 
prietors. This was followed by a love ditty, thus 
literally translated to me : — 

" My love is the flower of Damanhour. 
Chorus — Ah-a-a-a ! 
She has coloured her nails with fresh henna. 

Ah-a-a-a ! 
I waste with my love for that gazelle. 

Ah-a-a-a ! 
She exceeds the rose in sweetness. 

Ah-a-a-a! " 

It must, however, be noted, that the lady, though 
possessing every feminine peculiarity, is invariably 
spoken of in the male gender, as it is considered in- 
delicate to do otherwise. Thus, a gentleman never 
speaks of his wife before a friend, nor does the most 
intimate friend allude to her, but in the most distant 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



183 



tense, or as " the ruler of the house." One of the 
prettiest songs and tunes was devoted to the bulbul, 
or nightingale, and its love for the rose ; and one of 
the most spirited, to a true native laudation of the 
Sultan's soldiers in the late Crimean war, wishing all 
could have seen — 

" These lions, when they took Sebastopol." 

The songs were sometimes varied by pious strains, 
in which the chorus was altered to " O Moham- 
med I" or u O Sadi ! " Nothing of a serious kind 
was ever done without an appeal to some sacred name, 
and in passing any town or place with a local saint, 
his name was always thus invoked. 

Both Lord Nugent and Miss Martineau notice the 
silly character of many of these songs, and the doleful 
strain of the tunes to which they are sung. The lady 
observes : — u We are accustomed to find or make the 
music which we call spirit-stirring, in the major key ; 
but their spirit-stirring music, set up to encourage 
them at the oar, is all of the same pathetic character 
as the most doleful, and only somewhat louder and 
more rapid. They kept time so admirably, and 
were so prone to singing, that we longed to teach 
them to substitute harmony for noise, and meaning 
for mere sensation. The nonsense that they sing 
is provoking. When we had grown sad over the 



184 



UP THE NILE. 



mournful swell of their song, and were ready for 
any wildness of sentiment, it was vexatious to learn 
what they were singing about. Once it was e Put 
the saddle on the horse ; put the saddle on the 
horse.' And this was all. Sometimes it was ' Pull 
harder ; pull harder/ Another was, ' The bird in 
the tree sings better than we do.'' ' The bird comes 
down to the river to wash itself/ ;; 

Sometimes, when they are in high spirits, they 
amuse themselves by concocting extempore songs on 
each other. As most of them are named Mohammed, 
Mustapha, Hassan, or Ali, the popular names of 
the East, answering to our Jack, Tom, and Harry, 
they distinguish each other by the towns they come 
from. Thus, one of our men was known as Minieh, 
where he resided; another, who came from Kous, 
or Goos, near Negadeh, was familiarly known as 
Goosey. He was a merry fellow, who did all the 
" odd jobs ;; of the crew, and was thus greeted : — 

" Goosey washes up our clothes — 

Chorus — Oh, Goosey ! ah, Goosey ! 
Boils the pot, to market goes. 

Oh, Goosey ! ah, Goosey 

Thus the song continued to enumerate his good 
qualities, until the theme was exhausted. The 
Minieh man had his name played upon to suit the 
jingle of the chorus. 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



185 



"One of our crew comes from a good town— 
Chorus — Ah, Mmiek ! Oh, Miami ! 
His features never wear a frown — 

Ah, Mink/5 ! Oh, Mini?// ! " 

Occasionally the personal allusions were considered 
so happy and amusing, that an universal roar of 
laughter greeted the singer, and stopped the rowing 
for a few minutes ; the party who was the subject of 
the song grinning with a delight perfectly enviable. 
At night, when the boat was moored, the awning 
drawn comfortably over the deck, and the frugal 
supper of lentils and bread ended, it was the delight 
of these poor simple men to sit in a ring, and listen 
to their songs, accompanied by a few strains on a 
reed flute, or taps on the darabooka drum (an 
earthenware cylinder covered with parchment), to 
which all kept time by clapping their hands. They 
were exactly like a lot of happy children — as little 
like grown men as possible. Their squabbles were 
merely of a pettish kind, and they " made it up " by 
kissing and hugging when peace was proclaimed. 
If one was absent for a clay or two, he was embraced 
by the entire crew on his return. 

We may now row leisurely up the river a distance 
of about twelve miles, without any prominent 
feature to call for especial remark ; at that distance 
is Abooteeg. Here the whole extent of the cultivated 



186 



UP THE NILE. 



land may be seen ; the Arabian mountains on one 
side, and the Libyan on the other, are nearly equi- 
distant from the river, leaving a strip of land on 
each side for cultivation, about five miles in breadth. 

Between Abooteeg and Gow, a distance of fifteen 
miles, rock caves will be noticed on the eastern 
cliffs. Many contain very old tombs, with subjects 
from ordinary life depicted on the walls, similar to, 
and as old as, any in Egypt ; they are mixed with 
others of later date, when the Ptolemies and the 
Roman emperors were lords of the soil, thus proving 
the adherence of all to the burial-place consecrated 
by the usages of many centuries. 

Gow is the ancient Antseopolis, the pretended 
scene of the Greek fable of Hercules and Antseus. 
There are no remains beyond a few stones, of no 
interest to the general traveller ; the temple of 
Anteus and the ruins of other buildings have been 
destroyed by the encroachment of the river, and the 
abstraction of the stones for the purpose of con- 
structing the governor's palace at Siout. 

Tahta is a large town on the western bank, 
situated in the midst of a fertile plain, with 
picturesque views of the hills around it. It may 
be described as an excellent specimen of its class. 
Plate IX. exhibits some of its principal features. 
Some of the houses are of a more ambitious altitude 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



187 



than is usually found in these towns or villages; 
others are decorated with painted fronts, always in 
strong positive tints in compartments of geometric 
form. In the centre of the houses is a sibeel, or 
public fountain, whose welcome waters pour into the 
roadway. Portions of the walls of a ruined mosque 
are in the foreground ; and in advance of this, along 
the paths, is a group of tombs, each covered by a 
plaster superstructure, varying in design, but gene- 
rally with a group of conical ornaments on the 
summit. An Egyptian graveyard has often a 
neglected, ruinous look ; the crude brick and plaster 
tombs crack and decay in the scorching heat • the 
dusty earth, too, without grass or plants, contrasts 
unfavourably with the greenness and solemn beauty 
of the tree-environed and flower-planted cemeteries 
in Europe. 

At Raianeeah, some few miles farther, the river 
winds considerablv, and the eastern mountains 
come close to the water. The course it takes leaves 
an isolated sand-bank of nearly a mile in breadth, 
which is an especial favourite with the water-birds, 
which flock to it in vast numbers, to bask in the 
warmth, after feeding in the fields. Pelicans, storks, 
herons, ducks, and geese, the last by hundreds, 
completely covered the ground, as our boat ap- 
proached the spot. It was the most extraordinary 



188 



UP THE NILE. 



sight of its kind I ever saw, and one that could 
scarcely be rivalled elsewhere. When a shot from a 
duck-gun was fired among them it did fearful execu- 
tion. At this the entire mass took alarm ; the 
different kinds of birds invariably kept together in 
vast groups, and rose in succession until the sky was 
filled by their numbers. No one would believe in 
the quantity here congregated, without ocular proof. 
To the sportsman no better place could offer itself 
than the Nile between Beni-Hassan and Esne. The 
birds begin to disappear about the end of February, 
and thebarrenness of the river is remarkable after that 
time. There is scarcely a shot, worth talking about, 
to be had ; and you see tens only, where hundreds 
resorted in December, January, and February. 

The mountains now curve inwardly, coming to the 
water's edge again at Gebel Sheikh Hereede. The 
curve may be about thirty miles round, and encloses 
a beautiful green amphitheatral plain, with many 
villages and antique mounds scattered over it. 
Advantage has been taken in ancient and modern 
times to build these villages on natural or artificial 
elevations ; and a reference to the Map of the Nile, 
in the great French Description de FEgypte, will 
show how abundantly they dot the plain, and give a 
quaint and unique character to the spot. It was 
night when we first passed the high rocks of Sheikh 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



189 



Hereede, which are piled grandly above the water, 
and often present bold cliffs to its very edge \ the 
scene was extremely impressive in the bright moon- 
light, which on our return by day we failed to feel. 
There is a singular native legend connected with 
this mountain, and which may be traced back to the 
most ancient serpent worship of Egypt ; it is a 
belief in the existence of a reptile of the kind, who 
has made this place his home, and who possesses 
the miraculous power of curing all diseases. The 
Danish officer Norden, who visited this place 1737-8, 
says : — " The Arabs affirm that Sheikh Hereede, 
having died in this place, was buried here ; and that 
God, by a particular grace, converted him into a 
serpent that never dies, and who procures the heal- 
ing of diseases, and bestows favours on all those that 
implore his aid, and offer him sacrifices." Pococke 
landed, and visited the Mosque here, in company 
with the natives, in the year 1743. He describes 
the Mosque as being like a Sheikh/ s tomb — a square- 
domed building, with the tomb of the Sheikh inside, 
and a cleft in the rock near, from which the miracu- 
lous serpent emerged. This tomb was reverently 
kissed, and sacrifices seem to have been made to the 
reptile (though the Sheikhs denied it), as blood and 
entrails of animals were before the door. The 
creature had resided there C( since the time of 



190 



UP THE NILE. 



Mahomet," and its mere presence cured diseases. 
For the use of great men it was sometimes taken to 
their homes; but could only be secured by the 
hands of a beautiful maiden. If a Christian came 
near it, it suddenly vanished, but re -appeared in its 
wonted place in the tomb. The Arabs affirmed its 
immortality ; and that if cut to pieces on the other 
side of the Nile, it would unite, to be again the 
presiding genius of this temple of health. Now, its 
glory has departed ! Bayle St. John says, — u The 
story of the serpent of Sheikh Hereede, seems 
better known to travellers than it is to the Egyptians. 
At any rate we did not find any one willing to talk 
on the subject." The truth is, the people find their 
superstitions laughed at, and as they are not to be 
laughed out of them, avoid talking on them altogether. 

The mass of rock in front of the river is separated 
from the main chain bv a ravine, and in this dismal 
cleft is the home of the serpent, I borrow St. John's 
account, as I did not visit it. He says : — " The 
tomb, or rather the tombs, for there are two, one 
opposite the other, partially shaded by a couple of 
sont trees, are little chambers with domed roofs, 
built against recesses of the rock. The smaller one 
is said to belong to the son of Sheikh Hereede. 
The doors were open, the floors covered with mats ; 
but there were no signs of any recent visit. We 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



191 



took off our shoes and entered. In the recesses of 
the rock were natural crevices, where we found the 
sloughs of serpents ; but the Arabs who accompanied 
us, whilst professing to know nothing of the tradi- 
tion which attributes cures to the crawling guardian- 
demons of the place, begged us not to touch these 
cast-off garments. It is curious that the fellahs of 
Upper Egypt believe that the slough of a serpent is 
good for sore eyes, and carefully preserve any they 
may find." 

There are ancient caves with sculptures, and 
quarries in the rock here, from whence the stone was 
obtained to build the temples that once decorated 
old Egypt ; but they lie wide apart, and the traveller 
may lose much time and patience in getting to any 
of interest ; for many that look promising from the 
plain below, are unworthy the toilsome labour of 
ascending the stony, dusty mountain-side, exposed 
to the heat of the sun. Unless a proper and trust- 
worthy guide be obtained, much fatigue and unprofit- 
able labour are sure to be incurred ; and such a guide 
is rarely or ever to be had, except in places visited, 
as a matter of course, by all travellers. A stranger 
may be frequently led wrong, or to something utterly 
unworthy a visit, by countrymen, only too glad to 
gain a few paras as guides, or to lend for a trifle 
a donkey for the journey. I should say that the 



192 



UP THE NILE. 



general run of travellers would do well to avoid this 
antiquity -hunting • the objects when found are 
chiefly of interest to the Egyptian scholar or student, 
and not to the general public. Better examples of 
art than can be found here, may be easily seen at 
Beni-Hassan, or Thebes. 

The sailors are generally glad to pass these moun- 
tains with a fair wind ; should the wind be adverse, 
and blow directly in their face, or along their sides, 
such is the power with which it is condensed, that 
the boat cannot proceed, but must anchor at the 
most convenient spot, furl its sail, and wait patiently 
for a change. It is sometimes a severe tax on 
patience. For three days it is no unusual thing to 
be thus blown to a mountain-side, in a most unin- 
teresting part of the river. Very frequently clouds 
of fine dust are brought in the wind from the desert, 
which produces the effect of a fog on the distant 
scene, and fills the cabins of the boat with its 
particles. Whirlwinds occasionally produce curious 
effects in lifting heaps of sand high in the air, 
looking like the smoke of factory chimneys, when 
seen in the distance. 

Near Soohaj, but at some distance on the edge of 
the desert, stands a very ancient Christian monastery, 
known as (< the White Convent/' It is a small 
walled village, with a very ancient church built from 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 193 

the stones of the older Egyptian temples, and 
decorated with Byzantine ornament, giving credibility 
to the old tradition, stating it to have been founded 
about a hundred and fifty years after the death of 
the famed Empress Helena, the mother of Constan- 
tine the Great. I must refer to Wilkinson's " Hand- 
book to Egypt/' for an abundance of interesting 
details regarding the aspect of this old monastery, 
and the curious inscriptions here and in the imme- 
diate neighbourhood ; merely remarking, en passant, 
that while the antiquary and scholar may be gratified 
here, the ride will repay any visitor who is curious 
to see an ancient monastic institution devoted 
to the Christian faith, abounding as this does with 
sculpture and painting of much interest. 

The large and important town of Ekhmim is the 
next we reach on the eastern bank ; it is now close 
to the stream ; but when Pococke visited it, in 1743, 
he spoke of it as a mile distant therefrom — a very 
interesting proof of the deviation in the course it 
has taken. Its appearance from the ordinary land- 
ing-place is delineated in Plate X. A large native 
dahabeahj bearing the Turkish flag, occupies the 
centre of the group of boats ; the boatmen are 
depicted furling the heavy sail, which they do by 
climbing the yard and tying it thereto. In the 
front, to the right, is a small fishing boat, the net 

K 



194 



UP THE NILE. 



floating on gourds. The square towers on the walls, 
and the pyramidal ones on the bank beyond, giving 
the town a strongly-fortified appearance, have in 
reality nothing to do with strategy; they are the 
houses of pigeons, and seem designed after the 
fashion of the propylaeum of the ancient temples. 
The old traveller, Norden, speaks of these buildings 
as having a " noble appearance." We shall find this 
form of pigeon-tower, like the doum-palm, to be 
characteristic of the Thebaid and Upper Egypt ; the 
round tower with its fanciful top, as at Golosaneh 
(page 120), and the conical one, as at Benisouef, 
Plate III., belong to Lower Egypt ; and we shall 
not meet with such in this upper country. The 
myriads of pigeons that fly about the towns and 
villages are surprising to a stranger. Miss Martineau 
says, " they abound beyond the conception of any 
traveller who has not seen the pigeon flights of 
the United States. They do not here, as there, 
darken the air in an occasional process of migration, 
breaking down young trees on which they alight, 
and lying in heaps under the attack of a party of 
sportsmen ; but they flourish everywhere, as the 
most prolific of birds may do under the especial 
protection of man. The best idea that a stranger 
can form of their multitude, is by supposing such 
a bird population as that of the doves of Venice, 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



195 



inhabiting the whole land of Egypt/ 5 At Bellianeh, 
higher up the river, a friend, who was a good shot, 
brought down, without shifting his position from one 
spot on the banks, upwards of one hundred birds in 
an hour's time, as they were returning in large 
flocks to their houses in the evening, from the fields 
where they had been feeding. The quantity of 
birds was here so great, that the people did not 
object to the slaughter, as they generally do in the 
smaller villages ; they even seemed to take an in- 
terest in seeing their birds killed, sitting in a mob 
round the sportsman, and highly delighted when a 
well-aimed shot brought one instantaneously with a 
fatal dash upon the ground. The boys vied with each 
other in rushing into the river after any of the 
birds that fell into it ; and their struggles to secure 
the prize, frequently ended in the upset of a whole 
group, the undermost at last emerging half smothered 
in mud. 

Ekhmim was the Panopolis of the Greeks ; it is so 
old that the record of its foundation is lost in the 
early history of Egypt. Leo Africanus speaks of it 
as " the oldest city of all Egypt even the ancients 
themselves, as Herodotus and Strabo, allude to its 
antiquity in their day. Khem, the god of genera- 
tion, was the Pan and Priapus of the Greeks and 
Romans. He had a magnificent temple here, of 

k 2 



196 



UP THE NILE. 



which some remains exist, and where an inscription 
has been found, dated in the twelfth vear of the 
reign of the Emperor Trajan, recording its erection 
to " the very great Deity/'' It is a singular fact that 
here, as at Sheikh Hereede, the very ancient supersti- 
tions still rule the lower classes in the land. Wilkin- 
son, in noticing this inscribed stone, says that " the 
natives have ascribed the same properties to it, and to 
another in the tomb of a female Sheikh, called Bir- 
el-Abdad, which the statues of the god of generation, 
the patron deity of Panopolis, were formerly believed 
to have possessed ; and the modern women of 
Ekhmim, with similar hopes and equal credulity, 
offer their vows to these relics for a numerous off- 
spring. Many blocks and fragments of statues in 
other parts of Egypt are supposed to be endowed 
with the same property ; but," he slily adds, " the 
population of the country is still on the decline." 

About three miles further up the river, and on 
the same side, is the Coptic monastery of which the 
following woodcut is a view. It stands on a sandy 
mound, and is encircled by arid cliffs. It is a good 
specimen of these lonely, prison-like homes of the 
Christian monks. A high wall completely hides the 
conventual buildings ; the domes of the sacred 
edifices only appearing above it. One small gate 
gives ingress to the whole \ when this is closed, the 



SIOTTT TO KENEH. 



197 



building is at once converted into a fortress sufficiently 
secure against the attacks of Arabs ; these evil neigh- 
bours, with their convenient desert, being close upon 
them. The double tower and small enclosure in 




advance of the gate and walls, is entirely devoted 
to pigeons, for whose use and breeding it has been 
especially constructed. A more gloomy home for 
man it might be difficult to find; Egypt was the 
chosen place for the self-tormenting ascetics of the 
early and middle ages, — a class of persons deserving 
of anything but veneration, although enrolled among 
" saints/ 5 It cannot be too clearly remembered, 
that they are only saints of man's making, and their 
claim to the title would be clearly disputed in the 
present day. 

St. George is the patron saint of the Coptic 
Christians, and his exploit with the dragon is 



198 UP THE XILE. 

delineated in very ancient paintings in these 
churches, as well as upon the temples they con- 
verted into churches, as at Dakke in Xubia. It will 
be remembered that his legendary history lays the 
scene of the famous encounter in Egypt, and that 
the lady freed from the monster by his prowess was 
the daughter of the Sultan of Egypt. The dragon 
is merely a winged crocodile ; and it is somewhat 
curious that at Mons, in Hainault, where a local 
knight, Gilles-de-Chin, is reported to have freed the 
land from a similar pest, the head of the dragon is 
preserved, as proof positive of the tale ; which head 
is, in reality, the skull of a crocodile. 

The picturesque town of Mensheeh is about four 
miles further up, on the opposite or western bank ; 
it is still more remarkable than Ekhmim for its 
pigeon-houses, giving the entire town the aspect of 
a strong fortress. It occupies a commanding situa- 
tion on a high bank, with a long causeway partially 
on arches, leading towards it over the low lands, 
which are entirely submerged in the time of inunda- 
tion, and correspondingly fertile at all other seasons 
of the year. The Nile has now washed away all 
traces of the ancient stone quay, and encroached 
upon the town itself — a fate reserved for many others 
on the western bank, which, a century ago, were some 
distance from the stream. 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



199 



The river scenery is varied and beautiful between 
this place and Girgeh, the next important tovrn we 
reach. At the commencement of the last century, it 
was the capital of Upper Egypt; and the elaboration 
and costly character of manv of its buildings testify 
to its pristine position. Xorden speaks of Girgeh as 
the capital of the Turks in Upper Egypt; and the 
bounds of their dominions ; for at that time the 
Arabs were lawless masters in the upper country. 
Here was formerly one of the largest and most 
opulent Eoman Catholic monasteries in Egypt; and 
of the most ancient foundation. It was the home 
of a Coptic bishop ; and the brethren of the propa- 
ganda had a hospital here, in which they maintained 
themselves by the practice of physic, which made 
them necessary to the Turks, who, however, treated 
them with harshness and injustice. The monastery 
was tenanted by more than two hundred monks. It 
still exists, but in a decayed condition. 

Plate XL depicts the aspect of this town from the 
river ; it is one of the most striking upon the banks. 
The varied and fanciful minarets, the tall pigeon 
towers, the clumps of palm-trees, and the perfect 
grove of acacias, doum, and date-palms, that environ 
its walls, give it a peculiar beauty of its own. The 
quay is generally crowded with boats, as well as with 
groups of busy people about them. Women washing in 



200 



UP THE NILE. 



the stream , or filling their water-jars, diversify the 
scene, The tower to the right, with its three 
diminishing stories, something like a stunted tele- 
scope, is one of a series often met with during the 
journey from Cairo to Thebes; they were intended as 
stations for the electric telegraph conductors ; but 
after their completion the line was abandoned and 
the wire carried more inland. As it crosses the rude 
Arab huts, and the lonely fields, its tale of modern 
progress contrasts strangely with the pristine condi- 
tion of the land it passes over. 

Here the boats rest again for bread-baking, and 
the traveller may well employ a few hours in 
rambling about the town and admiring the frag- 
ments of decorative architecture to be seen in its 
streets; they will afford abundant employ for the 
pencil of the sketcher. The bazaar is large, but 
half unoccupied ; the town in general has the look 
of faded importance : in addition to this, the river 
is making rapid encroachments yearly, and fast 
washing it away. It originally extended beyond the 
entire width of the present bed of the river, which 
was then some considerable distance from its walls. 
Now many of the houses are broken down by the 
fall of the bank sapped by the stream, and a large 
mosque is partially destroyed : the latter is seen in 
our view, the apsidal end having been added to close 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



201 



the opening into its court by the ruin of its walls, 
and allow an entrance from the river by the steep 
flight of steps which are doomed to be carried away 
themselves before many years are past, the inunda- 
tion of last autumn having done more mischief since 
this sketch was made. 

At the base of the Libvan hills, about twelve 
miles from Girgeh, are the ruins of Abydus. The 
traveller may easily procure asses here to take him 
to the spot ; meantime, his boat may follow the 
winding of the stream, and he can join it at 
Bellianeh ; unless he would save himself an hour's 
fatigue over a flat and not interesting plain, and 
start from the latter place, a distance of about eight 
miles, which may be comfortably travelled in two 
hours. These ruins have supplied our National 
Museum with one of the most remarkable monu- 
ments of ancient Egypt possessed by that or any 
other collection. This is the far-famed "tablet of 
Abydus/' a chronological series of names of early 
Egyptian monarchs, ending with that of Rameses 
the Great (b.c. 1311 — 1245), by whose orders it was 
executed. It is, unfortunately, only a fragment, but 
it carries back this official list to the early period 
of 2082 years before Christ, and aids in clarifying 
and confirming those given by Manetho and the 
early historians. It was first noticed in 1818, by 

k 3 



202 



UP THE NILE. 



Mr. Bankes, and four vears afterwards M. Cailland 
examined and drew it for Ckampollion, who published 
it. The French consul in Egypt , M. Meinaut, now 
fully alive to its interest, removed it from the ruins, 
and carried it to Paris on his retirement from the 
East. At his sale, in 1837, the French Museum 
failed to secure it — an act the more remarkable, as 
it seemed so peculiarly to belong to the country 
whose savans had done so much in disseminating its 
knowledge. The hammer of the auctioneer gave it 
to England at the cost of <£500 ; a large sum, 
for a few hieroglyphics • but no fixed money-value 
can be placed on objects unique as this is. 
- It was found in the debris of the small temple of 
Osiris, some short distance to the north of the 
larger temple. There is little remaining of this 
famed building but a few feet of wall above the 
foundation, and that reached by excavating the sand 
which has buried the original surface of the ground 
at least thirty feet. This place rivalled the island 
of Philae, for it was also asserted to be the burial- 
place of Osiris. Here the greatest god of the Egyp- 
tian Pantheon had the most splendid and beautiful 
of temples constructed to his honour. It was lined 
with alabaster, its walls covered with painting and 
sculpture. Its pristine beauty may be guessed at, 
from the fragments.we now see ; the pure white of the 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



203 



surface, and the brilliant manner in which the 
details are painted — the hieroglyphic inscriptions 
being richly coloured also — testify to the costly beanty 
of this famed shrine. "When furnished with all the 
sacerdotal paraphernalia of the ancient faith, and 
crowded by richly-dressed priests, attendants, king, 
and people, how striking must haye been the 
sacred ceremonies under the pure bright sunlight — 
itself typical of the god. There is nothing in Egypt 
purer in taste, or more indicative of refined splen- 
dour, than this small fragment of a solemn fane. 

The great temple near it is half buried in sand, 
which has covered even the roof of the great hall, as 
shown in Plate XII. Into this you descend by a 
sloping excavation. The pillars are of very ancient 
form, the sculptures boldly and beautifully executed, 
particularly the hieroglyphic inscriptions, which in 
some instances are unusually large. The enormous 
blocks of sandstone stretching from pillar to pillar, 
and forming the roof, are decorated with the winged 
sun. Some of the ponderous slabs which rest on 
these pillars have sunk, and are only kept partially 
in their places by the earth and sand massed in the 
course of ages about them. From this hall the 
sanctuaries are entered. The doors of two of them 
may be seen to the right in our view ; they are 
elaborately sculptured over their entire surface. All 



204 



UP THE XILE. 



are characterised by delicacy and grace of execution; 
the traces of colour throughout the ruins are very 
perfect. There are four chambers, each with an 
arched roof, decorated all over its surface with a 
series of cartouches containing the name of Sethi, 
the father of Eameses the Great, who commenced 
this temple. These cartouches are arranged in lines 
Trith a star between each, a mode of making them 
subserve as decoration peculiar to this place. The 
cyclopean character of the masonry is another 
remarkable feature in these sacred apartments ; 

thev are roofed with 
enormous blocks of 
stone, reaching from 
wall to wall, a dis- 
tance of twelve feet 
asunder, the arch 
being cut out of the 
solid mass, as shown 
in the section here 
engraved. Nothing can more forcibly display the 
great mechanical power at the command of the 
ancient masons. 

As this is the first great temple the visitor meets 
with in his upward course of the river, and as its 
present condition renders the comprehension of its 
original design anything but clear— indeed, exceed- 










j 


v ■ 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



205 



ingly perplexing before obtaining the experience of 
others more perfect, it will be well to give here a 
plan of these sacred edifices, particularly as they had 
a general resemblance throughout the land, varying 
only according to size and minor details, but pre- 
serving essential features, as do the religious build- 
ings of all times and countries. A large piece of 
ground was enclosed by a wall of brick, the temple 




occupying the centre. The space between was some- 
times planted with trees, and is the sacred grove 
alluded to by the scriptural writers. Long avenues 
of sphinxes (a a in the plan) lined the way to the 
temple ; some fine examples remain at Karnac. In 
front of the principal gate were seated colossal statues 
of the king (b b), and obelisks inscribed with dedica- 
tory inscriptions (c c), as at Luxor. The gate of 
entry (d) was flanked by two pyramidal towers (e e), 
generally of enormous proportions, covered with 



206 



UP THE NILE. 



historic sculpture, as at Luxor, or representations 
of their royal builders sacrificing to the gods, as at 
Edfou. This gave entry to a large open court, with 
a portico supported by pillars around it (f) ; crossing 
this a covered hall (g) was entered, the roof supported 
by rows of thickly-planted columns ; screens reaching 
half-way up these pillars parted the hall from the 
open court, or the sanctuaries (h h) beyond; the 
latter were sometimes separated by a transverse ante- 
room, or passage. 

There is an extensive series of tombs in the hills 
near this once-renowned city, which in size and im- 
portance rivalled the capitals of Upper and Lower 
Egypt at Thebes and Memphis. Plutarch states 
that the ancient Egyptians were particularly anxious 
to be interred at Abydus, where Osiris was believed 
to be buried. This assertion of that author is fully 
borne out by the inscriptions found in these graves, 
which tell us that the mummies within them were 
brought there from long distances. 

The modern Abydus is a very straggling town, 
being in fact a series of groups of houses, built on the 
high ridge of sand formed by the debris of the Libyan 
hills, or the drift from the desert which has buried the 
older ruins. It is unpicturesque and uninviting, the 
glaring sun unshaded by the ordinary palm-trees. 

The ride to Bellianeh from hence is through a 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



207 



singularly fertile plain. The distance is most decep- 
tive, as usual; owing to the flatness of the land and 
clearness of the air. Yon fancy that half-an-hour's 
ride is all that will be necessary to reach its boun- 
dary at the river, but it occupies more than two 
hours to do this. The plain was covered, when the 
author crossed it, with the temporary sheds of reeds 
in which the shepherds live for four months of the 
winter season, while their flocks graze. Many goats 
were rambling about — a most ugly breed, with high- 
ridged noses and great flapping ears ; the sheep were 
all dark-coloured — brown or black — with a very thick 
coarse wool. Over the entire plain the position of 
the villages can be detected by the groups of palm- 
trees which protect them. The richest crops covered 
the plains, the lentils and barley were ripening, and 
very many men and boys were employed in slinging 
stones at the wild birds, to stop their depredations. 
Each sling was formed from thick cords, knitted 
together by the peasants. It was held by a loop 
passed round the second finger of the right hand, as 
shown in the cut ; the mesh which held the stone 
was of cord also, and a second cord was attached to 
the opposite side of it ; the end of this cord was held 
in the hand when the sling was charged with a stone. 
"When this stone was about to be cast forth, the sling 
was whirled two or three times round the head, and 



208 UP THE NILE. 

then this second unlooped cord was allowed to fly 
forward with the stone in the manner displayed in 
the engraving. In this land of unchanging customs, 



where the simple implements of peasant life alter 
even less than other things, there can be little doubt 
that these slings are of the same form and make as 
were used by David ; and in looking at the shepherd 
boy using this, in his simple dress — a loose wide- 
sleeved shirt of coarse brown stuff — it seemed to 
require no great stretch of imagination to fancy we 
looked on David himself, who must have presented 
just such a figure as do these fellah boys. 

© 

Our Anglo-Saxon forefathers used a sling of pre- 
cisely similar make, as may be seen in the above 
woodcut, copied from a drawing in a translation of 




SIOUT TO KBNEH. 



209 



the Pentateuch, written and illuminated in the tenth 
century by iElfricus, abbot of Malmesbury, at the 
desire of JEthelward, an illustrious ealderman. It is 
now preserved in the British Museum among the 
Cottonian manuscripts, and press-marked " Claudius, 
B. iv." In the original drawing the slinger is aiming 
at a bird upon the wing. 

Our English farmers, and agriculturists generally, 
are noted for " grumbling but the condition of the 
Egyptian farmers is the worst of any. It is hard 
work for them to pay their way and secure any profit 
for their labour, notwithstanding the natural goodness 
of the soil they cultiyate. The ravages committed 
by birds, in so confined a district as the valley of the 
Nile, must be very great : every village abounds in 
pigeons, enormous flocks of wild birds settle on the 
crops ; they are liable to swarms of locusts ; and all 
persons seem to think it right to help themselves in 
the unfenced fields, the sailors regularly stealing laps 
fall of beans, or green stuff, whenever they could get 
on shore. When " tracking " or pulling the boat by 
the rope, they would gather handfuls of the tender 
leaves of these plants, and eat them, like cattle do, 
as they walked along. The sugar-plantations of 
course fared the worst, and canes were dragged up 
by the roots and cut to pieces with the avidity of 
hungry gourmands. When the farmer has secured 



210 



UP THE NILE. 



his crop, lie has then to contend with the govern- 
ment, which screws taxes out of his profits without 
mercy or justice, and compels him to find labourers 
for all public works. His must literally be the life of 
"a toad under a harrow." 

Bellianeh is a large town, thickly surrounded with 
trees. A large market was held under a plantation 
of palms, to the south of the houses, when our boat 
anchored there. Markets and fairs are invariablv 
the best places to gather ideas on the tastes and 
habits of the people. The country folks came from 
long distances, as well to sell as to purchase ; the 
goods were all displayed upon the ground ; the most 
curious were the wares of the travelling pedlars, who 
carried a large quantity of cheap finery for women. 
However poor they are in Egypt, they will have an 
abundance of necklaces, finger-rings, bracelets, and 
anklets. The heavy jewellery for richer persons 
would be formed in gold or silver ; it is formed for 
the use of the poorer classes in copper. The most 
curious ornaments are the neck-rings and bracelets, 
which are made precisely in the same way as they 
were in the Roman era, and similar in manipulation — 
even to the welding of their twisted wires — to those 
found in the British Islands and in Gaul. A drawing 
of one of these modern Egyptian works might pass 
for a copy of an antique. Curiously enough, the 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



211 



name for the neck-ring is tock, an evident corruption 
of the torque of classic times. Many of the bracelets 
are made of coloured glass, the hand being curved 
in passing it through. The gold and silver bracelets 
worn bv the better class are sufficiently elastic to 
save the pain or trouble of thus squeezing the hand ; 
and sometimes gold is used so pure that it bends as 
easily as if it were lead. The finger-rings at this fair 
were the rudest and cheapest jewels to be bought, 
and might be had for somewhat less than an English 
halfpenny each; they were cast in lead, and bits of 
glass of various bright colours took the place of 
jewels. Ear-rings of various forms are made from 
thin plates of gilt copper, the decoration roughly 
stamped in a die, and the whole trimmed into shape 
and soldered as coarsely as possible; some of them 
are formed in imitation of coin, and hang in bunches 
from twisted wire decorated with blue and red glass 
beads. Strings of glass beads, many of really ele- 
gant design and workmanship, are also worn, but 
are more expensive, being sold at so much per bead ; 
they are importations from "Venice, whose works in 
the sixteenth century outshone all others, and have 
never been surpassed; their celebrity in the East has 
ensured a large trade up to the present time. To 
this large ""wealth of jewels,'"' which the poorest 
wear, is now often added the nose-ring, sometimes of 



212 UP THE NILE. 

gold, but most generally of brass, with two or three 
red earthen beads upon it. I made a sketch of an 

elderly woman who dis- 
pensed with the face-veil, 
and was abundantly sup- 
plied with all these articles 
of ornament, the intrinsic 
value of the whole being 
under five shillings, and 
the real cost not much 
above double that sum. 
They have a general fond- 
ness for pendent ornament : the earrings have small 
circular plates like spangles hanging to their lower 
edge ; the finger-rings also have small rough pearls 
or beads appended to that part which appears when 
worn on the back of the hand. The anklets worn 
by children are of brass wire, to which little bells 
are attached to jingle as they run — an ingenious 
device by which they may be kept within hearing, 
and be prevented from straying into danger. 

These stall-keepers also exhibit knives of the most 
primitive rudeness, with blades as if formed from 
iron hoops, in handles of rough wood or common 
bone ; the latter remarkable for exhibiting the con- 
centric ring ornament so common in Byzantine 
work, and so frequently seen in Anglo-Saxon relics. 




SIOUT TO KENEH. 213 

Combs made from rough ebony, imported from 
Mecca, are often ornamented thus, by dies dipped in 
a silver wash, which leaves a glittering, but very fra- 
gile decoration. "We engrave a specimen, its contour 
closely resembling those 



found in late Roman and 
early Christian tumuli, 
in all parts of Europe. 
The looking-glasses pro- 




duced by these wander- 
ing dealers are perfect curiosities of badness, the 
frames enriched by the commonest coloured glass or 
gilt paper. In fact, all the articles they produce are 
about on a par with the cheap toys that used to be 
manufactured fifty years ago for our children, or 
the gilt gingerbread that still rejoices them at 
country fairs. 

The shoe-sellers keep to the traditional taste for 
red and yellow leather, and the peaked upturned 
toe, which to us looks absurd, is in truth very wisely 
fitted for native use, inasmuch as it does not dig into 
and throw up dust, as our flat-toed shoes do. After 
a very short experience, the author found the great 
advantage of adopting them, which he gladly perse- 
vered in until he left Alexandria for home : the ease 
and coolness they give to the foot, owing to their 
sensible shape and general construction, cannot be 



214 



UP THE NILE. 



claimed for the European article. Indeed, in the 
hat and shoe worn so universally by Western and 
Northern nations, these peoples have made a misery 
for themselves, which has also the curious disadvan- 
tage of being the ugliest human inventions (for the 
head assuredly) that have ever been adopted since 
the world began. The thickly-folded turban that 
appears to load the head unnecessarily, and would 
overheat it in Europe, in reality keeps it cool in the 
East, repelling the heat of the sun, and being a 
better protection from a coup de soleil the thicker 
and more voluminous its folds are made. The head 
itself is closely shaved — an obvious advantage when 
the turban is removed. The beard is carefully tended, 
and is most valuable, as it keeps up an equable tem- 
perature about the face where it requires most pro- 
tection from sun. No one fully understands the true, 
use of the beard who has not journeyed in the East. 

This fair, like all primitive ones, was largely used 
for the sale of useful articles : cloth of all kinds and 
adjuncts to dress of course appeared ; grain of every 
description, sugar in cane and loaf (the latter coarse 
and quite brown), and butcher's meat. The buffa- 
loes, goats, and sheep were driven in alive, sold, and 
slaughtered on the spot. A particularly fine sheep 
was bought as backsheesh for our crew, at the cost of 
fourteen shillings English, and was remarkable for 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



215 



an enormously fat tail, looked upon by gourmands 
with delight. When a buffalo is killed, the butcher 
and attendants set to work immediately afterwards 
beating it with heavy sticks to make it tender (but 
which neyer effects that desirable end) ; it is then 
cut up for sale, sometimes into very small pieces, 
and so made into lots, from whence kibabs are 
cooked — they are small cubes of flesh stuck in a 
long row on skewers, and roasted oyer a charcoal 
fire. This process of subdiyision is effected in a true 
Eastern style of nonchalance. We saw one butcher 

if 

cutting up his pieces, and securing the general 
lump as he did so, by holding it with his left hand 
and his teeth. In another place a donkey-barber 
was busily employed trimming various animals ; they 
clip the legs, particularly the hinder ones, above the 
knee into horizontal and diagonal lines, produced by 
cutting the hair close to the skin. In Plate VIII. 
the animal in the foreground is thus decorated. One 
of the most curious sights was a travelling black- 
smith, who had improvised a forge ; his fire was blown 
by a bellows worked by his wife, and formed from a 
kid-skin, the hinder part secured to two parallel 
sticks of wood; a spring, also of wood, between 
them, allowed the skin to be inflated according to 
the will of the blower, whose hand (secured in side 
loops) passed across the front, and directed the blast 



216 



UP THE NILE. 



through the neck of tlie skin ; that being fixed in a 
mound of earth in front of the fire which was made 
in a hole in the ground. 




An act of summary justice was done to a small 
colony of very brazen dancing girls, on the morning 
following our arrival, who had located themselves 
close by the coffee-shops, opposite the boats. Some 
vears a°;o, thev had run riot in Cairo to such a 
degree, that they were banished beyond Thebes, and 
took up their general abode at Esne, a place that 
became infamous in consequence. Xow they are 
dropping down the river again, — some few, of a low 
kind, may be seen in the streets of Cairo; and 
others, who dance in private houses, are " winked 
at but they are common enough in the large towns, 
at and above Minieh. The Bellianeh girls were 
smoking and drinking with the men the day before, 
and paid no customary respect to the local governor 
as he passed. He was most irate in consequence, 
and on the first opportunity he sent a detachment of 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 217 

soldiers and labourers, who gave them a sudden and 
early call, turned them all out of doors, and then 
out of the town ; finishing their labour by pulling 
down the entire group of houses they inhabited — 
which being, like the rest, mere mud hoy els, were 
all cleared off in about an hour. The larger jars 
and pans used in the kitchen, which were too cum- 
brous to take in their flight, were smashed up. Thus 
a wide and ugly gap in the town, and a heap of mud 
walls and potsherds, were all that told of the " gay 
place " of the preyious day. 

The outskirts of the town had a wild, deserted 
look this same morning, for the fair was oyer, and 
the ground strewed with its waste : it was possessed 
by groups of dogs and vultures, picking up bones 
and scraps, and occasionally disputing for their 
possession ; while smaller birds of prey watched the 
chance to secure a share for themselyes. These 
creatures are the scayengers of Egypt, and disgust- 
ing as they may occasionally appear, perform im- 
portant and useful offices ; so that, in return, their 
liyes are respected, and they epjoy immunity from 
persecution. 

Crocodiles become more common now ; they repose 
in the sun on the sandy islets left in the shallow 
parts of the river, sometimes many together, rarely 
singly. "We saw one at least sixteen feet long, and 

L 



218 



UP THE XILE. 



a small one beside it, at a turn of the river; but 
they both disappeared beneath the water as the boat 
came fully in their sight. Birds are also abundant 
here : one day's shooting bagged eighty-three geese 
and seven ducks. 

There is little to notice in the towns or villages 
between Bellianeh and Keneh, although the distance 
is more than sixty miles. Far shoot, Bajorah, and 
How, present no features for especial remark. 
Behind the latter are some very old tombs with 
paintings, but not worth the general visitor's while 
to go to. Some large islands diversify the scenery. 
The river winds hereabout very much, and the 
patience of the traveller may be again severely 
tested by the hindrance of winds, which, if they 
blow at all, are sure to be adverse in some part of 
the course. We did not accomplish three miles in 
as many horn's, with all hands at the oars; the 
wind, too, brought with it a perfect fog of sand, 
which filled eyes and nose, and penetrated all the 
cabins. The cliffs again approach the river at a short 
distance further on, and are part of the range on the 
eastern bank known as the Jebel Mooneh. From a 
lonely, bleak bank opposite, the boat was loudly 
hailed by a man svho, with very little ceremony, 
called on us to stop and send ashore money or food 
to a certain (t holy man/' whose servant he was, and 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



219 



who lias lived for more than a quarter of a century 
in a sort of hole excavated near this spot, sheltered 
only by a screen of reeds. He has two attendants, one 
employed in fetching what he requires as food, and 
as a general servant ; the other as a watch upon the 
river. The boatmen firmly believe that mischief is 
sure to happen to boat and crew, should they pass 
the spot and leave him unheeded. They described 
him as very old, with a long white beard ; he never 
wears clothes, performs any ablution, or leaves the 
hole he has chosen to reside in. His name is Sheikh 
Selim, and he started in life as the attendant to a 
village mosque. A friend who visited him, in com- 
pany with his boafs crew, describes his appearance 
as that of an over-fed, scrofulous creature, with a 
stomach swelled, and legs attenuated by his indolent 
life ; very filthy, but worshipped by the boatmen, 
who considered it a blessing to be allowed to 
approach or touch him, kneeling, kissing his hands, 
and bowing their foreheads to the dust before him. 
They are persuaded that the hyenas play about him 
at night, as friends and protectors rather than 
enemies ; and that the crocodiles smell at him and 
retreat (for which other reasons than his sanctity 
might be adduced) . The extraordinary part of his 
deception is, that he has never been known to pray, 
or go through any religious forms, as is usual with 

L 2 



220 . UP THE NILE. 

such professors ; and when asked to do so for these 
visitors, he replied that it was needless, for they 
were all good men. In fact, none had come empty- 
handed, and all were satisfied with his words, because 
they believe that he is entranced every night, when 
he appears to be in his natural sleep ; and that his 
soul then travels to Mecca, and intercedes for thern, 
performing at the same time the due religious 
ceremonies. 

Such is a living instance of what the anchorites 
and saints were in the early stages of Christianity in 
Egypt. If those who respect them in " legendary 
lore^' could see them as we see this Sheikh, their 
reverence would possibly be less. The people here 
say that when he dies the square building, with its 
cupola, which indicates the burial-place of a saint, 
will be placed over his tomb, and he may be invoked, 
as are others on the Nile, by the boatmen in time of 
danger. 

Bayle St. John remarks that ^the number of 
persons who in every generation acquire a reputa- 
tion for sanctity in Egypt is veiy great. Scarcely a 
village fails to produce, from time to time, a holy 
man, who utterly displaces his predecessor, and 
having gathered a tribute of solid respect during 
his lifetime, contrives to attract empty homage to 
his tomb after death. At length some other wise 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



221 



individual, having awakened to the profits of piety, 
follows his example ; and thus the succession of 
objects of veneration is kept up. Sheer imbecility 
is sometimes a sufficient title to respect in the eyes 
of these poor barbarians, who, however, may be 
more prudent than we think thern, and may be in- 
stinctively aware of the inconvenience of having 
saints too clever. The sacred idiots of Egypt, who 
often affect the folly which has not been vouchsafed 
them, are but moderately exacting in their claims. 
They are content to be hardly so well dressed as the 
lilies of the field, provided they be required neither 
to toil nor to spin. Many of them, indeed, go 
about naked as Adam before the fall. Their cells 
are anything but palaces. All they require, indeed, 
is to be fed in idleness, and allowed to spend their 
lives in a state of contemplative beatitude." 

The long reaches of the river from this point present 
no new features to descant upon. Indeed, the cliffs 
and picturesque details of the river, repeat them- 
selves as much as the flatter scenerv of the lower 
land ; and it seems most surprising how any travellers 
can assert that the Nile is not monotonous. I fear- 
lessly assert, after having been up and down the 
principal European streams — the Rhine, the Ehone, 
the Saone, the Marne, the Meuse, the Moselle, and 
the Danube — that any of these would gain largely 



222 



UP THE NILE. 



by a comparison. Nay, our own Thames, between 
Oxford and Windsor, has more elements of the 
picturesque than the Nile possesses. 

Dishne is situated on one of these long reaches. 
Norden says the name expresses ''admiration, or 
amazement, because the Arabs who went up the 
Kile, here found themselyes at a loss to know on 
which side they should turn when they would pray/'' 
for, owing to the elbow of the river, the sun appeared 
to be on the opposite bank to that upon which he 
rose elsewhere. 

In about six hours we reach Keneh, distant a mile 
from the stream, and approached across a waste of 
soft sand. It is a large town, and of much import- 
ance, carrying on an extensive trade with Arabia ; 
being the high road to Cosseir on the Red Sea, and 
the route taken by caravans to Mecca. The finest 
dates in Egypt may be purchased here ; they are 
carefully selected, and packed in drums, varying 
in price according to quality ; the darkest kind are 
the dearest, and very much the best ; they are more 
like a soft preserve than a natural vegetable growth, 
and are from the renowned gardens of Ibreem. The 
native dates of Egypt are dry, stringy, and bad. 

The governor's palace is passed as we go this way 
to the town. It covers a large surface with its 
straggling and varied buildings for the numerous 



SIOUT TO KENEH. 



223 



dependants, rendered necessary by Oriental ideas of 
position. We had occasion to make an early 
acquaintance with the interior and its master, 
Falil Pasha, owing to the sudden incarceration of 
one of our crew. The event was so very charac- 
teristic of Egyptian life, in its governmental as well 
as social state, as to be worth relation. When we 
had anchored on the previous evening, this sailor, 
who had been marked on the conscript list by the 
Sheikh of the village near this town, in which his 
family lived, went on shore to pay them a visit, 
when he heard that they were arrested as hostages 
for himself. He at once went to the place of their 
confinement in the town, and was speedily locked 
up with them. Nothing would give this innocent 
family liberty but a sacrifice of their son (whose 
wages was their principal dependence) to the hated 
ranks of the army. As a last resource, he begged our 
interference, on which he had full dependence, and 
not without reason ; for the Pasha received us most 
courteously, and, after reprimanding the man for the 
removal of his front upper teeth (an evident trick to 
prevent his utility as a soldier, by rendering it im- 
possible for him to bite a cartridge, but which the 
sailor declared had been done by his mother in his 
infancy), he ended by saying it was a difficult case 
to decide, but that he had a firman from the Sultan, 



224 



UP THE XILE. 



authorising him to grant every facility to travellers 
and their servants; he would, consequently, give 
him a release. A secretary prepared the necessary 
document, which was rendered valid by an impres- 
sion of the Pasha's seal; this he carried in his girdle 
attached by a silver chain, the surface being first 
rubbed with a viscid ink, when it was stamped on 
the paper. The question was thus settled as a 
favour, not as a right ; the merits of the case either 
way did not effect the decision ; and it is this un- 
certainty in plain justice, and this dependence on 
extraneous influences of all kinds, that make mere 
honesty so little cared for in Egypt. 

Business over, the Pasha regaled us with pipes 
and coffee — the established routine of Egyptian hos- 
pitality; hence the serving of both is ostentatious, 
and the paraphernalia the most expensive in house- 
keeping. Furniture they have none, beyond a small 
table or stool ; the cushioned divan occupying the 
sides of a reception-room, and taking the place of 
our chairs and sofas ; tables are only brought in for 
meals, and the heavy amount of furniture and bijou- 
terie which crowd our rooms is utterly unknown. 
Hence the lavish cost of coffee-services and pipes, 
that being the way in which the rich display their 
wealth to visitors. The coffee was served by two 
attendants, one bearing the coffee-pot, placed in a 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 225 

receptacle hanging by three chains attached to a 
ring held in the hand, and somewhat resembling the 
censers of the Roman Catholic Church ; this holds a 
small quantity of charcoal to keep the pot heated. 
The second attendant carried the tray with the cups 
of china, each in its metal stand. The entire service 
(except the porcelain cups) was of gold filagree, of the 
most elaborate and beautiful design. The Maltese 
are famous for work of this kind, and many of 
them, as well as French jewellers, reside at Cairo in 
constant employ, though much of this work is im- 
ported. Sometimes the cups are richly enamelled, 
and manufactured to order in Paris. I saw some 
which had been made there, a curious mixture of 
French and Egyptian tastes. The bottom of the 
metal cup was filled up with minute machinery like 
a musical snuff-box, which was set playing by turning 
the foot below it : thus inelodv could be luxuriously 
enjoyed while sipping coffee, which is often scented 
bv ambergris . 

The pipes we used were six feet in length, the 
stems of light jasmine wood covered with silk, and 
overlaid with woven threads of gold and silver; a 
thin veil of pink gauze protected this from being too 
readily soiled by an heated hand, without hiding the 
decoration. The mouthpieces were very large, of 
the finest amber, and the juncture with the stem 

l 3 



226 



UP THE NILE. 



secured by a golden ring thickly set with diamonds. 
The bowl of the pipe is sometimes cut from a rare 
stone j but if made of the favourite red earth, it is 
always richly gilt, and rests in an enamelled dish 
placed upon the floor. The Moors are celebrated for 
this manufacture of metal-work, which often displays 
much rigorous fancy in design and gorgeousness of 
colour. 

The establishment boasted numerous dependants. 
The chief huntsman was introduced, and the narra- 
tion of recent feats on the hills with wild animals, 
and on the river with crocodiles, was practically 
illustrated by the stuffed skins of hyenas, jackals, and 
the great river pest. One of the crocodiles, killed but 
a few days before, measured ten feet in length. The 
difficulty of getting near enough to hit them is con- 
siderable, and when a shot does penetrate, it is not 
often fatal immediatelv, as the creature sinks into 
the water, and crawls long distances to die : hence to 
kill and secure a victim of this kind is no easy task. 

In the courtyard, the Pasha's hawkers were seated 
with their birds on perches, awaiting his orders. 
All around groups of other attendants or of soldiers 
gave life to the scene. Long ranges of building told 
of their large numbers. Much, of this building had 
the half-ruinous look characteristic of the slight, 
ill-finished architecture which now prevails in the 



SIOUT TO KEXEH. 



227 



East, with its imitative enrichment executed in dis- 
temper colour on walls of whitewash, as if copied 
from a French cafe chantant. 

The town itself, unlike Girgeh, has no fine archi- 
tectural features ; it is a great assemblage of dusty 
streets and mud houses. The mosques are unpre- 
tending in style, and unworthy visiting. Near the 
Pasha's palace is a very large inn, used by the pil- 
grims as a meeting and resting-place on the annual 
excursions to Mecca. It is generally used as a 
coffee-shop ; but that occupies only a small part of 
the vast building. It has the plainest accommodation 
possible for visitors, who seat themselves on the 
ground, or on low stools made of a bamboo frame- 
work. The walls of the building are of mud, the 
roof formed by laying palm-stems across and cover- 
ing them with the branches or matting ; heavy piers 
of crude brick help to support this roof ; between 
them are divans of brick also coated with clay, upon 
which the guests sleep on a mat, wrapping them- 
selves in their own clothes. Outside are large 
enclosures for cattle. The ordinary announcement 
of our village inns, " Good entertainment for man 
and beast," could never apply here, for anything 
more dirty and dismally uncomfortable could not be 
invented. A complete colony of over-dressed brazen 
dancing-girls are in immediate contiguity, and report 



228 UP THE NILE. 

speaks of a prosperous trade they have with the 
pilgrims bound on their pious errand, who willingly 
add a few extra sins to the load they carry to part 
with for ever at Mecca. The great temple of Den- 
dera, on the opposite shore, was early dedicated to 
Athor, the Egyptian Venus ; and it has been shrewdly 
remarked that her rites have never been neglected, 
during all changes of peoples and their faith, in the 
neighbourhood originally devoted to her worship. 

In the lane leading thence to the great bazaar 
I sketched the view engraved on Plate XIII., as 
an excellent specimen of the general aspect of the 
interior of an Egyptian town. In the foreground, 
to the right, is a tobacconist's shop ; on the dead wall 
near it an itinerant pedlar has displayed his wares, con- 
sisting of women's trin- 
kets, looking-glasses, cut- 
lery, and minor articles of 
use or ornament, spread- 
ing the smaller ones on 
the ground beside him. 
Beyond, at the corner of 
a lane, lives a dealer in 
the goolehs, or porous 
water - bottles so con- 
stantly used in Egypt ; their general form is dis- 
played in our cut. This town is celebrated for 




SIOUT TO KEXEH. 229 

their manufacture ; it is the staple trade, and 
hence they are carried to all the others, where they 
are sold. The clay used in their fabrication is 
obtained from the bed of a mountain stream in the 
neighbourhood ; it is mixed with the ashes of the 
halfeh, or coarse reedy desert grass. The jars are 
formed on the potter's wheel from the lump of clay 
thus prepared, with the assistance only of a small 
piece of metal to trim them; the potter's hand and 
eye enabling him to do the rest with such rapidity, 
that more than fifty may be made by a clever work- 
man in an hour. They are very cheap, but very 
fragile ; the least collision injures or destroys them ; 
hence the immense quantity of potsherds in the 
vicinity of all towns. The top of this house, it will 
be perceiyed, is used as a store for jars; that of the 
house to the right has a range of oil -jars, which 
women are examining. The door roof-tree, with its 
caning, will be noticed on all these houses, as well 
as the simple construction of the windows, consisting 
of an open square, across which bricks are laid dia- 
gonally resting on each other, with open spaces 
between. The house-tops are always made storing- 
places for such articles as the rooms could not con- 
veniently contain. In the distance is a group of 
pigeon-towers, and here and there from the court- 
yards of houses the date-palm rears its tufted head. 



230 



UP THE NILE. 



In the centre of the view is the entry to the bazaar, 
rendered purposely gloomy by the roof of palm-tree 
stems and leaves, but which is gay and cheerful 
enough within, for there is a constant trade or a 
constant gossip going on, pipes always alight, and 
coffee always being carried about for customers. 
The cooking department is fragrant with fried fish 
and broiled kibabs, while pans of hot lentils, and 
queer unknown messes of pickled and raw vegetables, 
abound. A clatter and hubbub, a pushing and 
squeezing of men and beasts, rival our Fleet Street 
in confusion, and there is nothing sloiv here but the 
mode of conducting serious business. 

A moolid, or annual commemoration of a local 
saint, was being held here when we were present, 
which added to the activity and gaiety of the place. 
We were advised to stay and see this, which, as the 
wind was against us, and a favourable chance pre- 
sented for seeing something more of the manners 
and customs of the people than is ordinarily dis- 
played, we readily acceded to. What we did see 
shall be narrated in the next chapter. 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



231 



CHAPTER VII. 

KENEH TO THEBES. 

" Hassan make great illumination ; for you let him 
go see the saint. " Such was the Egyptian English 
which was given in explanation of certain antics 
expressive of rude joy, which one of our Nile boat- 
men indulged in when we stopped at Keneh, and 
gave permission to a few of the men to visit a sort of 
" Holy Fair/ ' held for three days in the town, in 
honour of a local saint buried in its cemetery. The 
explanation was to me little less clear than the man's 
pantomime ; and I had therefore to seek an interpre- 
tation of it. The " great illumination " puzzled me, 
but I ultimately found that the custom of hanging 
out oil lamps, on all occasions of rejoicing at Alex- 
andria, Cairo, and the principal towns on the Nile, 
was used to indicate the mental emotions it was 
supposed to typify ; and that our boatman was 
" greatly rejoiced/" 



232 



UP THE NILE. 



This curious singleness of meaning, associated with 
a given word, was further experienced on another 
occasion : when the wild ducks kept aloof, and a 
shot at them was unattainable, we were told they 
were " very much ashamed " that morning. The 
word had been adopted in the sense of shyness, and 
hence its ludicrous application. 

There is still another bit of the brief speech of our 
interpreter, which wants explanation ; and that is 
the phrase, " seeing the saint," which simply meant, 
visiting his mosque and tomb, doing a certain amount 
of religious service, and then indulging in the fun of 
the fair. 

We had experienced a hot and wearisome day on 
the Nile, and when night came with its welcome 
coolness, there was a beauty in its calm peculiar to 
the country. The heavy groves of date and doum 
palms swung solemnly in the breeze; the Lybian 
hills were piled in more fantastic forms than elsewhere 
on the opposite shore ; and below them, half buried 
in the sand, was the far-famed Temple of Dendera. 
The intense blueness of the sky was relieved by a 
moon almost golden with light, and myriads of stars 
brilliantlv clear. "We decided on " seeing the saint" 
also, as the ride would be so pleasant, and the escort 
necessary would give many more of our crew a share 
in the pleasure, which they envied their companions 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



233 



who had already started. Dragoman, captain, and 
crew bestirred themselves to get ready with a haste 
unusual to Egyptians ; and in the course of an hour 
donkeys were obtained from the town, and the whole 
cavalcade was in marching order. 

This constant allusion to donkey-riding, we have 
elsewhere explained. The breed has always been 
famous in Egypt, and deservedly so, to the present 
time ; the noble description, in Job, of the wild ass, 
can scarcely be appreciated by those who only know 
the miserable western breed, and have not seen these 
docile, strong, and useful creatures in the East. 
They are to be preferred to the horses which may 
occasionally be obtained, and which are as inferior to 
them as they are among ourselves to horses. The 
traveller should provide himself with a good saddle 
in Cairo, as the country ones are generally old and 
uncomfortable, and sometimes not to be had at all. 

The ride across the plain in the still moonlight, 
when no footfall could be heard on the soft sand, 
must have given a ghost-like appearance to our 
party, as the lanterns nickered near us, and occa- 
sionally gleamed on the group. The loneliness of 
the dusty alleys, where only a few wretched dogs 
crouched and growled in corners, was succeeded by 
a gayer scene as we reached the main street leading 
to the bazaar. There some business seemed doing ; 



234 



UP THE NILE. 



many of the shops were open. The best trade was 
done^ as usual, at the coffee-shops, in front of which 
many groups of musicians were seated, playing most 
vilely on instruments called, by courtesy, musical, 
consisting of a drum, tambourine, reed-flute, and 
rabab, or small violin, which emitted only a few 
unpleasant notes. The cook-shops also showed signs 
of activity; and the kibabs, fried fish, and extra- 
ordinary conglomerates of vegetables in which the 
people delight, were busy preparing for their delecta- 
tion. Groups of dancing- girls stood at the doors, in 
the lanes leading from the bazaar, with lights 
gleaming from the open doors of their mud cabins ; 
with boisterous jocularity, giving invitation to all 
passers-by. The sides of the lanes stretching 
towards the outskirts of the town, were lined with 
temporary stalls of dealers, who had brought their 
wares from long distances for sale here. They were 
lighted by hanging lamps, and comprised an extensive 
variety of utilities, as well as luxuries. Thus some 
were devoted to the sale of grain of all kinds ; others 
to bread and cakes ; others to silks and ordinary 
stuffs — in fact, this fair resembled those held in the 
middle ages in our own country, when intercommu- 
nication was difficult between towns and villages, 
and a fair was a necessary aggregate of the general 
produce of a country, brought together on special 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



235 



occasions for the use of a particular locality, whose 
inhabitants took that opportunity to supply them- 
selves with household stock. The occurrence of 
some saintly festival was generally fixed upon as a 
time for holding it, as was the case with this present 
one. 

Emerging into the open land at the outskirts of 
the town, a line of dark shady trees led to a bridge 
crossing the now dry canal, which irrigated the fields 
when the Nile was at its fullest. To this point 
converged equestrian and pedestrian visitors, and 
the scene became very animated. Groups of maimed 
and diseased beggars lined the bridge and clamoured 
for alms. In advance was a lurid glare, cast on a fog 
of sand-dust, raised by the constant movement of the 
crowd, and a noisy hubbub of voices announced the 
locale of the festival. In a few minutes we were in 
the midst of a dense mob, through which it was not 
easy to penetrate. It seemed as if the entire inhabi- 
tants of the town, with a strong reinforcement from 
the villages near, had all met at this place. The 
spot, too, was generally solemn and quiet enough ; 
it was the cemetery of the town, and the booths were 
erected close to the graves of the dead. The small 
mosque which covered the tomb of the saint whose 
festival now occupied the people, stood near, it was 
profusely lighted, and crammed to suffocation with 



236 



UP THE NILE. 



devotees. To look into the glaring building and see 
the throng violently engaged in pious genuflexions, 
excited wonder at human nature's powers of endu- 
rance. Round the walls of the building crowds of 
devotees had assembled, and added to the noise by 
loud exclamations, as they swung their bodies to and 
fro, seated in a continuous line. But the wildest 
scene was enacted in advance of the mosque ; here 
long lines of dervishes, in advance of each other, were 
engaged in executing the zikr> a religious ceremony 
which consisted in repeating the name of " Allah/'' 
to a monotonous chant of two notes, each devoted to 
one syllable, and timed by a leader to the tap of 
a drum ; the body was jerked violently from the hip, 
in a series of genuflexions, as this was done ; the 
never-ceasing motion in the heat, dust, and excite- 
ment, was painful to look upon. A few yards beyond 
this the ]onely graves straggled on toward open 
desert, the vast expanse of sand stretching far away 
to the Arabian hills, with nothing to disturb the 
solemn quiet of the scene, as it reposed in the 
moonlight. 

Having seen the religious part of the moolid, we 
visited the strictly secular portion. The tents or 
booths were all crowded, but were so dimly lighted 
that little but the crowd could be distinguished. 
Coffee and pipes were the staple of enjoyment ; they 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



237 



were abundantly in request everywhere . The only 
entertainment was dancing ; and groups of Ghawazee 
were in all of them, accompanied by the necessary 
musicians. The dances were usually performed by 
four or six of these girls, and consisted of slow move- 
ment s, accompanied by a peculiar motion of the 
muscles of the abdomen, of most unpleasant effect ; 
but which seems to be so essential a feature in all 
their dances, that it is continually indulged in, 
and proficiency gained by a training through life. 
To an European the effect is unpleasant, if not dis- 
gusting ; to an Egyptian it is the only thing cared 
about. These girls were all sumptuously dressed in 
rich silks, and had a profusion of gold ornaments 
about them ; rows of necklaces, strings of gold coins 
hanging from the hair, earrings, nose-rings, and 
anklets, testified to their earnings. One of them had 
constructed for herself a thick girdle of gold coins, 
by stringing them together, which terminated in an 
imposing bunch, arranged like a lozenge. Others 
wore a girdle from which hung small silver cases 
containing charms. All were, of course, unveiled ; 
many with the tattooed faces and blued lips, which 
the women of Upper Egypt delight in possessing. 
None could be called beautiful • some were positively 
ugly, and not remarkably juvenile. They were 
attended by elderly women — decayed old dancing- 



238 



UP THE NILE. 



girls — who ministered to their wants in the way of 
handing refreshments, which consisted of strong 
drinks and tobacco. 

The dances were all executed to a sort of stoccata 
music, with a shuffling sidelong movement; each 
dancer holding small cymbals in her hands, which 
marked time like the Italian Castanet, but was cer- 
tainly an improvement upon that stupid wooden in- 
vention ; the sound emitted resembling the tinklings 
of a small bell : the cymbals were not larger than 
castanets, and were secured by a thong, which passed 
over the fingers. The thumb and the second finger 
regulated their movement, as the dance proceeded. 
These dances appear to have retained the most 
ancient features of such as delighted the forefathers 
of the Egyptians, in the days of the Pharaohs ; the 
music, too, was of the simplest character, and, like 
the songs of the Nile boatmen, may have descended 
traditionally from very remote ages. The only dance 
that was peculiarly wild and striking, was one which 
concluded the series; in which the dancer threw 
herself forward with a sweeping dash of the leg, 
that seemed to possess a great deal of the presumed 
abandon of savage life. When the dancing was 
over, some of the performers sang ; their voices 
were pitched to a high note, and the soloes were voci- 
ferated as they stood with the right arm on the hip, 



KBNEH TO THEBES. 



239 



and the left hand placed open close to the mouth, to 
give increased power to the voice ; after the fashion 
of our street fishmongers. This seemed an esta- 
blished practice Trith all. 

The next day being adverse to our progress, I 
again rode up to see what other amusements were 
provided for the visitors to the saint. Purchases at 
the stalls and coffee -drinking seemed still to be the 
chief attraction. There was, however, a performance 
of vaulting and posturising, by a group of Bedouins, 
who piled themselves on each others' shoulders 
pyramidally, and executed feats of tumbling, after 
the fashion of a company who visited this country a 
few years ago, and who have since been imitated by 
native acrobats at every street corner in London. 
A very tall Xubian acted as clown to the ring, and 
kept the vast crowd in good-humoured order. Some 
mounted Arabs exhibited their proficiency in throw- 
ing the jereed, or light spear, and performing many 
feats of dexterity while their horses were at full 
gallop, or dashing among each other in a movement 
like a wild dance. The dust, crowd, heat, and con- 
fusion which accompanied this part of the enter- 
tainment, made it unpleasant to all but a native. 

Around and inside the mosque, the same crowd of 
devotees were grouped, all busy in the genuflexions 
and exclamations which seemed so wearisome to 



240 



UP THE NILE. 



mind and body, and so tediously monotonous to look 
upon. It was curious to witness tlie extreme of 
religious fervour and secular licence meeting and riot- 
ing together, on the same spot of ground — and that 
spot the repulsive grave-yard, with its half-ruined 
tombs and withered trees; while beyond was the 
waste of desert sand, lonelier and more death-like 
than all. 

The whole scene was a livdng realisation of the 
European church festivals of the middle ages, when 
monkery winked at vice for the emolument it brought 
with it. The German engravers of the sixteenth 
century have preserved some features of these scenes, 
as " aids to reflection " for such as look back roman- 
tically to that fabulous period, "the good old times." 
King James I. of Scotland, in his description of that 
held at " Christ's Kirk on the Green," has given a 
vivid picture of what there took place ; and his 
countryman, Burns, has left us a comparatively 
modern, but a still more striking example in his 
" Holy Fair." 

A far more solemn scene awaits the traveller on 
the opposite shore, where the half-buried temple of 
Dendera lies amid heaps of sand. The road to it 
runs over rough ground, and across stubble, or 
coarse half eh grass. Some camels were picketed 
beside enclosures of dried canes, and flocks and 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



241 



herds were attended by persons without other shelter 
than the screens of the same material, secured by 
hay-bands, after the fashion already described. 
Temporary coffee-shops of this construction, roofed 
in also with reeds, are generally to be found where 
boats anchor. All these people, whatever the nature 
of their occupation might be, left it to pursue a 
stranger for " backsheesh and one man, probably 
a sentimentalist, caught up a baby and held its tiny 
hand forth, thinking that an irresistible appeal. 
This eternal dogging and pestering for gratuities, is 
the most tiresome and provoking thing on the 
journey. Bayle St. John, in his "Village Life in 
Egypt," wonders that travellers complain at what he 
considers a sort of joke, declaring that the peasants 
cannot really expect to obtain what they continuously 
ask for, and that very often they merely speculate 
on the chance, or for the amusement of annoying ; 
but such an argument is clearly a distinction 
without a difference, because the traveller is as 
much pestered by the eager and threatening looks 
of these beggars as if they were the effect of 
real emotion, and it is almost impossible to dis- 
believe that they are not so. At least, money is 
eagerly sought, and always secured if offered ; in 
what, then, consists the difference ? 

The Temple of Dendera is situated on high ground, 

M 



242 



UP THE NILE. 



the site of the old Tentyra, whose name has de- 
scended, with small variation, to our own era. The 
sands have encroached npon it, and the portico and 
interior were once half filled by the drift. The 
effect of this portico is exceedingly striking, and 
cannot fail to impress the visitor, who should not 
pass it by in going up the river, as is often the case 
in hurrying to Thebes, and so examining it after- 
wards. As this will be the first temple, in fine and 
comprehensible condition, he will see, it will aid him 
in understanding the general plan upon which they 
were all constructed ; and he trill be the better able to 
appreciate its beauties uncompared with the vaster 
ruins at Karnac. The style, too, of its architecture 
he will be told by the cognoscenti in Egyptian art, is 
bad, and its sculptures inferior ; but this he will not 
know or feel by his own experience. It is wonder- 
fully grand and impressive, until finer things are 
seen ; but even then it is not without merits 
peculiarly its own, and will always abundantly 
reward the traveller who studies it. 

The columns, twenty-four in number, which sup- 
port this portico, are surmounted by gigantic heads 
of the goddess Athor, to whom the temple was 
dedicated. She was the Venus of the Egyptian 
Pantheon, and a fitting deity for the devotion of 
Cleopatra, who began the erection of this temple. 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



243 



Upon the exterior walls of the sanctuaries, this 
queen, and her son, Neo-Csesar, are represented in 
the act of making offerings to the goddess. These 
full-length portraits are colossal — about twice the 
size of life; the head of "the 
sultana/' as the natives call her, 
is here reproduced in fac-simile. 
The regal fillet is surmounted by 
the attributes of Athor — no un- 
fitting emblems for the wearer. 
As this portrait was executed by 
Egyptian artists, for the queen, 
during her lifetime, it is to be 
received as a resemblance; and 
though not, perhaps, equal to our 
notions of her beauty, is not without a grace that 
may have received "a touch beyond the reach of 
art/' in the expression of the living original. 
Certainly it is infinitely superior to the only other 
authentic representation upon her coinage, which is 
absolutely ugly. That portraiture was attempted in 
the sculptures of ancient Egypt is not now doubted ; 
and the peculiarly-marked features of Neo-Csesar 
add strong confirmation to the fact. He was her 
son by Julius Caesar, and his paternity is clearly 
shown by an unmistakable Homan nose, which no 
Egyptian artist would have delineated, if he had 

m 2 




244 



UP THE NILE. 



done his work conventionally, as a mere picture of a 
native prince. 

The portico of this temple is the least ancient 
part of the building, and is an addition of the time 
of Tiberius, as recorded in a Greek inscription run- 
ning in a continuous line on the projecting fillet of 
the cornice. Some portions of this record have 
been purposely erased ; but they may still be read 
when the light falls in a particular direction. 
M. Letronne has defined this date as the twentieth 
year of Tiberius Caesar, and the inscription states 
that the portico was made in honour of " the very 
great goddess, Aphrodite/' by the people of the 
metropolis and its district, for the welfare of the 
emperor, "the new Augustus, son of the god 
Augustus." It is therefore one of the most recent 
of the temples in Egypt, and is characterised by the 
elements of decadence. Its style lacks the purity 
and rigid beauty of the earlier architecture of the 
country : but this will scarcely be felt by the visitor 
who has not made architecture or sculpture, accord- 
ing to antique tastes, his peculiar study — hence the 
advantage of visiting this temple before Thebes or 
Edfou. It cannot be denied that there is great 
grandeur about this temple, and the pillars of its 
portico have in them more elements of the pictu- 
resque than the purer styles of an earlier era. The 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



245 



walls are covered with figures of the gods, hierogly- 
phic inscriptions, and ornamental decoration, all 
executed with singular elaboration in relievo, but 
certainly clumsier in style than older works. This 
portico and the hall beyond is now cleared to the 
base of the columns, and a staircase enables the 
visitor to descend to the floor of both. The French 
began the good work in the days of Denon and 
the savans who followed the army of occupation 
under Napoleon. The scientific world was startled 
by them with the remarks they issued on the subject 
of the famous zodiac upon its roof — remarks which 
sought to prove a most profound antiquity for this, 
in reality, comparatively modern relic, and a conse- 
quent confirmation of scepticism in Biblical lore. 
The completeness of the roofing of this temple is 
one of its most interesting features ; the vast stones 
which rest on walls and pillars seem the work of 
giants rather than of men. 

A series of chambers succeed these halls, the walls 
and roofs of all as elaborately decorated. The vast 
labour in decorative sculpture is amazing to contem- 
plate, and throughout the building it is the same; 
no corner, however obscured, is without its due 
share. These temples have been happily compared 
to books of devotion, their written walls containing 
the elements of the ancient faith, illustrated by pic- 



246 



UP THE NILE. 



tures of the gods ; hence to read these walls was to 
study religion, and there were literally cc sermons in 
stones " which formed them. The isolated sanc- 
tuary, at the extreme end of the series of halls and 
chambers, has an avenue surrounding it and smaller 
apartments entered by its means. There are also 
underground chambers, to which access is gained by 
an entry befitting the mysterious nature of the wor- 
ship consecrated to the goddess. A small square 
aperture gives admission from the inner hall to a 
long narrow passage, in which two persons can with 
difficulty pass each other ; the walls are scarcely 
three feet apart, the roof about ten feet in height, 
yet they are also elaborately sculptured with figures 
of the gods. The passage takes a downward slope 
to the extreme boundary of the wall, when it turns 
at a sudden angle, and a sharp descent commences, 
ending in a chamber which was no doubt sacred to 
the most solemn mysteries of the long- forgotten 
faith. It is tenanted by owls and bats ; the latter, 
disturbed by the glare of our torches, rushed past us 
in the narrow v/ays with such rapidity, as to give 
some reasonable alarm that they would extinguish 
our lights, and leave us to grope our way as best we 
could from these dusty labyrinths in total darkness. 

The roof of the temple is reached by a stair the 
walls of which are crowded with figures, as if of an 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



247 



ascending procession, many of the figures bearing em- 
blematic standards. This stair winds round a centre 
at right angles, and is lighted by small windows very 
deeply splayed in the thickness of the wall. On the 
lowermost slope of all of them is a raised sculptured 
representation of the 
sun shedding rays of 
light, in the form of 
a series of small py- 
ramids. Does this 
typify the sun as the 
giver of stability to 
life? 

The view from the 
roof is very exten- 
sive, but comparatively barren. There is one feature 
here, however, completely unique, and this is the 
small temple which is built upon its south-eastern 
angle, exactly over the adytum, or sanctuary. It is 
hypaethral, or roofless, the entablature supported by 
twelve columns, four on each side, and after the 
fashion of those upon the portico; a sculptured screen 
is also between each, and the walls are covered with 
sacred ornament. It is an architectural gem which 
should not be overlooked by the visitor. 

Much as has been done by drawing, engraving, 
and photography, it is impossible to visit this and 




248 



UP THE NILE. 



other temples without feeling how much more may 
vet be done ere a full idea of their elaboration, and 
the curiosity of their details, can be given to such as 
travel only in books, and see antiquities only in pic- 
tures. To properly measure and draw, analyse, and 
delineate all the peculiarities of Dendera, would task 
many labourers, and demand an illustrated folio 
volume. It would be well if such a work could be 
undertaken and carried out for any one temple, in 
order that the great leading principles of sacred 
architecture among the ancient inhabitants of this 
interesting land might be better comprehended. Den- 
dera, though comparatively modern, has details of im- 
portance. I noticed particularly the 
water-spouts which drained the roof, 
and which prove that the builders 
were cautious to provide against the 
ill effects even of the few showers 
that fall in Egypt. They take the 
form of the fore part of a sedent 
lion, from whose mouth the water 
issues, and are supported on heavy 
corbels, as shown in our cut. 
In passing the southern wall of the exterior, my 
attention was attracted to the sculptures which 
entirelv cover it, and relieve so admirablv that surface 
which would be dull monotony without them. I 




« 



KENEH TO THEBES. 249 

noticed most of the outlines of the relieved intaglio 
of the figures filled in with lumps of clay; on looking 
higher,, I found the upper row of sculptures quite 
obscured in their outlines by the same thing, while 
the cornice above was one mass of mud ; but here 
was the solution of the mystery — thousands of wasps 
were busy about the whole mass, which was in reality 
a conglomerate of their nests. These little creatures 
have thus made the sculptures useful, and I found 
advantage had also been taken of the same bland 
sunny side of the gate in front of the temple. 

Other ruins of smaller temples adjoin this nobler 
one. The most interesting is that to the south-west, 
believed to be the chapel of Isis alluded to by Strabo. 
It is very small, consisting only of a corridor in front 
of three chambers. A Greek inscription on the gate 
in advance of this building records its erection in the 
thirty-first year of the reign of Augustus, under the 
prefecture of Publius Octavius. The names of the 
Emperors Claudius and Nero also occur, as well 
as on the larger temple, as if it had been the policy 
of the emperors to conciliate the Egyptian people 
by completing and patronising the sacred structures 
founded by the last of their independent sovereigns. 
Upon the wall of the central chamber, the most 
holy of the series, is sculptured the sacred cow, 
under which form the goddess Isis was believed to 

m 3 



250 



UP THE NILE. 



live among the people, as Osiris did under that of 
the sacred bull at Memphis. The animal is repre- 
sented in a shrine placed in a boat steered by Horus ; 
between its horns is the disc of the sun, surmounted 
by feathers, similar to that upon the head of Cleo- 
patra, engraved on p. 243. There is a remarkable 
incident connected with this figure. "When our army 
was occupied in expelling the French under Napo- 
leon, it was joined by sepoys from our Indian ranks, 
who came by way of the Red Sea to Cosseir, and then 
by land to Keneh. When they visited this temple and 
saw this figure, they were impressed by a religious 
enthusiasm and prostrated themselves before it, 
believing that here they saw a venerable monument 
of their own faith. This has led many naturally to 
infer an intimate connection between the ancient 
religion of India and Egypt. Wilkinson, however, 
considers it " proves nothing beyond the accidental 
worship in two countries of the same animal ; " but 
with all submission to such an important authority, 
it is impossible not to feel that the evidence would 
have been considered conclusive in other instances, 
and that much of our conjectural knowledge of the 
ancient faiths rests upon proofs equally slender. Nor 
is it too rash to trace to the most profoundly ancient 
religion of Egypt that of other Eastern faiths, when 
they have this striking identity, sufficient to awaken 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



251 



the worship of strangers in the land — simple men 
whose faith was at once appealed to, and met by 
fervid religious response. 

Near this, but to the northern side of the great 
temple, is another, which is sometimes termed the 
Typhoneuni, from the circumstance of each capital 
being surmounted by the figure of the evil genius 
Typhon. It is also a small building, consisting of 
two external and three sacred chambers, whose walls 
are covered with subjects connected with the birth 
of Horus ; it is, therefore, believed to have been the 
place set apart by the priesthood as the figurative 
residence of his mother, at the time when he was 
born. There are other instances of such adjuncts to 
the main building, dedicated to the worship of the 
great Egyptian triad, Osiris, Isis, and Horus ; and 
the learned Champollion, to whose critical acumen 
we are indebted for the most important facts in 
connection with the history and hieroglyphic lore of 
the country, has classified them under the name 
mammesei. 

The people of Tentyra were celebrated, at the 
time these temples were erecting, for their hostility 
to the crocodiles which infested the river hereabouts — 
waging a constant war with them, and exhibiting the 
greatest boldness and dexterity in capturing and 
destroying them. They were consequently hated 



252 



UP THE NILE. 



by tlieir neighbours above and below tins portion of 
the river, where these creatures were worshipped as 
sacred — protected and petted, fed daintily when 
living, and carefully embalmed when dead. The 
classi€ writers have left us many written testimonies 
of the proficiency of the Tentyrites, in exterminating, 
or catehing and taming them. This extermination took 
place on a particular day, when they held a solemn 
service to Horus, and piled before his altars as many 
as they could kill, in accordance with the belief that 
the evil one, Typhon, eluded the vengeance of the 
god by assuming the form of one. Herodotus 
describes several modes of catching crocodiles, 
adopted by the people of this place : one was by 
fastening a piece of pork to a hook, and so casting it 
into the middle of the stream, attracting the crocodile 
towards it by the cries of a young pig beaten on shore ; 
when the bait was swallowed, the creature hooked and 
dragged to land, its eyes were plastered with mud, to 
render its destruction safer. As a proof of the endur- 
ing character of the habits of ancient Egypt in the 
modern land, Wilkinson's account may be quoted, of 
one mode practised at the present day : — " They 
fasten a dog upon a log of wood, to the middle 
of which is tied a rope of sufficient length, protected 
by iron wire, or other substance, to prevent its being 
bitten through ; and having put this into the stream, 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



253 



or on a sandbank at the edge of the water, they lie 
concealed near the spot, and await the arrival of the 
crocodile. As soon as it has swallowed the dog, 
they pull the rope, which brings the stick across the 
animaPs throat. It endeavours to plunge into deep 
water, but is soon fatigued by its exertions, and 
is drawn ashore ; when receiving several blows on the 
head with long poles and hatchets, it is easily killed.'" 
Pliny assures us, that "though the Tentyrites are 
small men," they evinced the utmost courage in these 
encounters; and many scorned any artificial aid in 
catching or securing the monsters — plunging after 
them into the river, then, springing on their backs, 
placed a bar in their gaping mouths, which, acting 
like a bit, enabled them to force them on shore. 
Strabo relates that crocodiles were exhibited in the 
public games at Rome ; and that for the amusement of 
that sight-loving populace some Tentyrites confirmed 
the truth of their traditional valour and expertness, 
by boldly entering the water-tank in which they 
were kept, casting a net about them, dragging them 
up the shelving side out of the water, and then, 
after a time, forcing them back into it. That they 
were in the habit of entirely taming these reptiles is 
also recorded by the same authors, and confirmed 
by a curious group in marble, a work of the Romanera, 
now in our British Museum (originally forming part 



254 



UP THE NILE. 




of the Towneley gallery of sculpture), representing 

an Egyptian or Nu- 
biantumblerpractising 
his art on the back of 
a tame crocodile ; the 
creature supports his 
entire weight, and has 
been so trained that 
he lifts his tail as the 
tumbler lifts his legs ; 
an exhibition con- 
sidered sufficiently extraordinary thus to warrant 
immortality in marble. 

Returning to the river, we may again enter our 
boat at Keneh, and proceed on our upward course. 
To the right the Lybian hills present more varied 
and picturesque forms than usual ; their summits 
are peaked, and they sink, in ridged irregularity of 
outline, before each other, towards the stream, which 
shows to its best advantage between Keneh and Ballas. 
The hills are grand and wild on one side, the plain 
extensive and fertile on the other, with the Arabian 
hills in the extreme distance. Owing to the winding 
of the river, hill and plain, wood and water, combine 
to make the scenery very varied and picturesque. 

The small town of Ballas lies in the level beneath 
these hills. It is chiefly remarkable as the manu- 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



255 



factory from whence come the water -jars so univers- 
ally used in Egypt ; receiving their name from this 
town. They are constructed of the light yellow 
clay obtained here ; and are used for domestic stores 
of oil and grain, but principally for water. They are 
carried by women, on their heads, from the river 
(as shown in the cut in p. 101), although many 
of them weigh, when full of water, from seventy-five 
to eighty pounds English; this hard labour being 
a daily task for the poor women. Their general 
form may be seen on a larger scale in the fore- 
ground of Plate VIII. They have no decoration 
beyond a few rude indentations, are of coarse 
manufacture, and sold very cheaply, being liable to 
rough usage and ready fracture. The ordinary 
pottery of Egypt always has this characteristic, 
and seems to have had it from the earliest times, 
which accounts for the vast accumulation of 
potsherds about modern villages and ancient cities. 
Among the latter an abundance of fragments of 
ancient painted Greek pottery might be readilyfound, 
did they reward the labour. 

There is a shelving bank beside this town, upon 
which the rafts are constructed to carry this pottery 
down the river, and which are the great floating 
curiosities of the stream. They are most ingeniously 
and simply contrived, and consist of long rows of 



256 



UP THE NILE. 



these amphora, and layers of palm branches, held 
together by ropes formed of palm-fibre. The 
engraving exhibits one upon its voyage down the 
stream. The jars are laid in three rows ; the lower- 
most have their months upward, and are secured by 




the ropes to the palm-branches above them, thus 
making a strong floating platform, upon which two 
other layers of pots are arranged. I counted the rows 
in one of these rafts, and found that there were sixtv 
jars on the largest, and twenty on the narrowest sides ; 
consequently there were twelve hundred in each 
layer, or three thousand six hundred in all. At each 
side a row-lock is made of sticks and rope ; a man, 
seated at each, propels the raft with a very primitive 
oar, which is merely a simple branch of a tree, 
selected because it has a group of smaller branches, 
which serve the purpose of the blade of an oar. In 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



257 



the centre of the raft a passage is left for the crew, 
seldom consisting of more than four persons; the 
captain keeps a look-out in front, the steersman, 
with a long pole, occasionally giving his aid. 
Generally the entire crew are idle, the raft slowly 
taking its own course with the flow of the stream. 
When any large town is reached, the raft is partially 
unpacked ; and thus it diminishes on its course 
down the river, until the cargo is disposed of, and 
some up-country boat brings its little crew back 
again to B alias, for a fresh supply and a new 
voyage. 

It was evening on both occasions when I passed 
this spot, and the scenery had an additional effect, 
owing to the hot haze that gave aerial perspective to 
each succession of hills beyond it. The sunsets on 
the Nile are probably the most glorious for beauty 
of colour to be seen anywhere, and are deservedly 
famed. No word-painting can display their glowing 
tints, upon which the eye dwells enraptured as the 
sun descends in a burning flood of golden light, 
accompanied by fleecy clouds of vapour, taking the 
most fantastic forms, and of a transparent rose 
colour, totally void of shadow. The golden hue of 
the horizon casts a faint green tinge where it mixes 
with the deep blue above ; but the most extraor- 
dinary and exquisite effect remains to be seen after 



258 



UP THE NILE. 



the sun has set below the horizon — then a warm 
roseate glow is thrown over the entire sky; but it 
fades off opposite the sunken luminary, forming a 
high or false horizon, and on that side the grey 
darkness of evening remains midway in the sky, and 
increases in density as it nears the eastern land. 
By directing the sight thus from west to east, you 




see at once the sunset, the twilight, and the night 
absolutely following the day. I have endeavoured 
to make this clearer by the few simple tints of the 
accompanying diagram — I wish I could as easily 
give the reader a view of the original scene. The 
remembrances of these sunsets are the most unalloyed 
of all the pleasures of my journey, and I lament that 



KENEH TO THEBES. 259 

nothing so gloriously beautiful of that kind is likely 
to be seen by me again. 

Until the traveller reaches Negadeh there is no- 
thing to necessitate stoppage. On the eastern banks 
are some remains of ancient towns, which have an in- 
terest to the antiquary, but, like many already alluded 
to, not to the general tourist, who will see elsewhere 
abundance of relics of a much finer order. Thus at 
Koft, and at Kous, or Goos, are a few remains to 
testify to their ancient importance. The first was 
the ancient Coptos, the second Apollonopolis Parva. 
They were the great depots for the Eastern traffic in 
the times of the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors, 
and hither came from the Red Sea all that wealth of 
merchandise Arabia and India offered, and whose 
splendid abundance has been so glowingly described 
in the scriptural narrative of the wealth of Solomon. 
The lonely, ruined, poverty-struck groups of mud 
hovels, and the quiet labours of the simple agricul- 
turists, now take the place of the once busy and 
wealthy cities, and the swarming quays laden with 
the wealth of nations. On the Nile, even more than 
at Rome, do we reflect on the past and contrast it 
with the present, feeling the sentiment of Byron's 
apostrophe to that 

ec Lone mother of dead empires." 

Negadeh has a repute for the manufacture of a 



260 UP THE NILE. 

striped cotton cloth universally patronised by the 
Egyptians; it is termed malayat, and worn by the 
men in the same way as the plaid by the Scotch, 
in one long piece, formed by joining two or more 
breadths of the stuff. Its resemblance to the Scottish 
plaid is still more striking because it is striped in 
narrow lines of deep blue (produced by the same dye 
that delighted our forefathers, obtained from the 
flower of the woad, or Isis tinctoria), which in parts 
cross each other, and sometimes are mixed with a 
few lines of red. It is generally worn as an extra 
wrapper in travelling or at nights, when the Egyptian 
protects his neck and chest as carefully as the Italian 

does when the sun sinks. 
It can be readily folded 
about the body, or opened 
and wound round the 
person when sleeping. 
The cut shows the ordi- 
nary mode of casting it 
about the shoulders on 
commencing a journey, 
and the peculiar mode of 
carrying the stick by the 
traveller — slung across the shoulders, and held by 
both hands. The malayat is always a very picturesque 
addition to the simple gown or tunic of the lower 




KENEH TO THEBES. 



261 



class Egyptian, and the carelessness with which its 
ample folds are cast about the person often gives 
grace and dignity to his figure. There is frequently 
a classic grandeur in the poorest dress ; from the 
coarse nature of the materials, the folds fall broad 
and heavily, with great depth of shadow, and the 
abandon of hopeless poverty has a sullen dignity of 
its own, which is sometimes imparted to the dress 
itself. 

Negadeh has, from the earliest time, been a 
stronghold of Christianity ; ten years ago it was 
calculated that it contained about three thousand 
Christians, and only five hundred Mohammedans. 
Between it and the desert are some verv ancient 
convents ; and opposite the landing-place is a Roman 
Catholic establishment belonging to the Propaganda, 
within a pleasant walled garden, with a church, and 
residences for the monks, who have landed property 
to some extent here. The bitterness of persecution 
seems to have died out in the present race of 
Mohammedans, who do not incline to show more in- 
tolerance, and frequently not so much, as sectarians 
of our own creed. The Christians, if not respected, 
are tolerated ; nor do the natives sneer at us more 
than we do at them. Indeed, it may be said that the 
Christian shows the worst spirit of the two ; while from 
the disuse of all external devotion in daily prayer, 



262 UP THE NILE. 

and an absence of gravity of mien, combined with 
the scoffing tendency he exhibits among things sacred, 
the Egyptian is led to believe him insensible to any 
religions influence at all. 

The monks of Negadeh, by their knowledge of 
medicine, made themselves very "useful to the natives 
in the days when Norden travelled • and hence 
secured immunity from their neighbours' love of 
rough peculation. The natives were not, however, 
very obliging towards the Europeans, he says, " and 
they even play them villanous pranks when they find 
an opportunity for it. ""His boat was surrounded by a 
crowd, and " an abundance of Arabs/' who at last 
boarded it, and " searched everything, even to the 
victuals that were in the pot/' The brass and 
kitchen utensils were believed to be gold or silver \ 
hence thev concluded the boat was filled with 
wealth. The report rapidly spread, and became a 
dangerous thing wherever he went, as the natives 
were fully prepared to take advantage of all chances 
to rob. The difficulties and dangers of travel, 
in the early part of the last century, are powerfully 
delineated in the pages of Norden and Pococke, and 
afford a wondrous contrast to the present ease with 
which the journey may be performed. Tribes of 
Arabs then infested the river, all quarrelling with 
each other; strangers were universally looked on 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



263 



with suspicion; landing for exploration was dan- 
gerous, and sketching believed to be a magic art, 
enabling the sketcher to obtain wealth, or mystic 
power over the country. 

The pigeon towers of this town "fortify " it even 
more than usual. Nothing but blank walls, sur- 
mounted or strengthened by heavy square towers, 
meet the eye from the Kile-boat. The open mouths 
of the earthen pots imitate ranges of artillery, as 
they gape toward the spectator; and the whole 
aspect of the place at a distance is very formidable, 
though innocent enough when approached. Clouds 
of pigeons are over the place, fluttering about the 
towers, or resting on the twigs built in the mud walls 
in rows around them ; inverted pots crowning the 
structures. There are gates to the lanes of the town 
which are closed at night ; and on entering them, a 
series of narrow passages, redolent of dust and filth, 
gives access to the houses. High walls close in the 
pathway, where no sun penetrates, and where deep 
drains of refuse from the houses fester in the heat, 
along with nameless pollutions against walls, cast 
out from within doors. u The great mental disease 
of the Orientals is their love of filth/' says Bayle 
St. John ; they seem to be incapable of annoyance 
at its presence, and to lay traps for plague and fever. 
Cleanliness would be impossible, as in Europe, in a 



264 



UP THE NILE. 



country of dust and mud houses ; but people seem 
here to revel in dust, as fowls do, bustling and rubbing 
about till they make a comfortable seat, where they 
will sit dreamily for hours, too lazy to brush the flies 
from their faces. The Italians who have invented the 
phrase, dolce far niente, and are supposed to be pro- 
ficients in carrying out its precepts, are much behind 
the Egyptians in this peculiar qualification. It 
would be, probably, impossible to parallel elsewhere 
the mental and bodily torpor of an Egyptian, when 
smoking for hours together on a sandbank beside 
the Nile. Life and time seem to be to him utterly 
valueless, and, therefore, to be placidly got rid of by 
mere unthinking endurance. 

On leaving Negadeh, I again noticed the encroach- 
ments the river is continually making on the western 
bank. It has carried off some houses, and cracked 
the walls of others. As they are all built of mud, or 
mere sun-dried bricks, they are miserably fragile, 
but in this dry climate they stand long enough to 
satisfy the people ; yet the English traveller cannot 
fail to feel that a heavy week's rain, as we have it in 
Cornwall, or Ireland, would reduce any of these 
towns to a mass of mud. 

The river is very shallow and winding beyond this ; 
and there are large islands and sandbanks in the 
stream, which are tenanted by vast flocks of birds, 



KEXEH TO THEBES. 



265 



astonishing to the stranger in their quantity. Each 
kind keeps in companies, and the pelicans seem the 
first to move at the approach of a boat, the rest 
following the example in successive flocks. The 
eastern bank of the river is here more fertile than 
usual; it is one mass of trees and plants, with* 
numerous gardens and sugar plantations — a perfect 
Egyptian Arcadia. As we approach Thebes, the hills 
to the left recede far into the distance; but the 
Libyan range rises more grandly than ever on the 
opposite shore. 

This approach to Thebes was different to all my 
preconceived ideas, and, as regarded impressiveness, 
totally disappointing. The plain is so vast, the 
hills so distant, the mud-banks so high, that a 
general flatness and tameness pervades the whole. 
The vast towers of Karnac are the first thing noticed 
on the left side ; but they are a mile and a half from 
the river, and appear a mere mass of stone. About 
the same distance in advance Luxor is descried, on a 
slight elevation — a conglomerate of houses and ruins, 
one helping to obscure the other. The opposite 
bank is a strong contrast to this, in its villages, 
temples, ruins, and noble hills ; nothing grander or 
more picturesque could be desired. 

Thebes, at the present day, is almost as non- 
existent as Memphis ; true, it is not under the Nile 



266 



UP THE NILE. 



waters, and has more relics of its past greatness to 
show ; but there is no place bearing the name, or 
absolutely representing the hundred-gated city. 
Letters may be directed " Thebes/' and will find 
their way into the hands for which they are intended; 
but they are all brought to Luxor, which is now the 
principal town of the group occupying the site of 
ancient Thebes. This group consists of Luxor and 
Karnac on the eastern bank, and Gournou and 
Medinet-Abou on the western. Luxor is the great 
stopping-place for all boats, and here reside the 
consuls of the various nations. Its name is derived 
from El-Uksor, or the palaces, in evident allusion 
to the noble ruins remaining. The columns of the 
great central hall of the temple form the portico of 
the residence of Mustapha Aga, who is consul for 
the English and Americans ; the flags of these 
countries waving from each corner of the portico, 
the noblest any house could possess. This consul 
speaks English fluently, is intimately acquainted with 
the entire locality, of most agreeable and obliging 
manners, and, what is still more valuable, is a most 
honest man. Like all the other consuls, he is a 
dealer in antiquities, and occasionally gets good 
things. But all antiquities are dearer at Thebes 
than in London, and less likely to be genuine ; for 
the demand is sometimes greater than the genuine 



KEXEH TO THEBES. 



267 



supply. Most persons would buy at Thebes, and at 
a large price, what they would not purchase at a 
moderate rate in London. The most absurd sums 
are given by travellers for what dealers at home 
would be only too glad to get rid of for a trifle. 
The same thing occurs at Rome, where visitors will 
buy wretched coins (only worth their weight in 
metal, or at so much a bushel) at a cost perfectly 
preposterous. The men of Gournou are adepts in 
supplying the demand for Egyptian antiquities, and 
fabricate scarabei, small figures of the gods, and 
clay seals with royal names, sometimes in a most 
ingenious manner. They force a trade with intense 
perseverance, and every person in the Theban 
district has something of the kind to sell ; even the 
children have a few to tempt purchasers. The 
adults are less difficult to deal with, never taking a 
refusal, but following and pestering the stranger 
wherever he goes, thrusting them upon him, and 
often exclaiming, with a stern frown — "Buy, you 
buy ! all gentlemen buy at Thebes/' 

The staple trade is in scarabei ; if genuine, large 
prices are asked for them. I have known instances 
of three and four pounds English asked, and ob- 
tained, for them. If false, they are by no means 
cheap, but, I need scarcely add, dear at any price. 
These men, from their great experience in rifling the 

n 2 



268 



UP THE NILE. 



graves at Gournou, have a perfectly educated eye 
for a true thing, and will not part with it cheaply. 
It is not safe for a mere dilletante visitor, or one 
not conversant with genuine antiques, to purchase 
at his own caprice at all. But of course advice of 
this sort is never taken ; and the assertion " I 
brought it myself from Thebes/' is too fascinating a 
thing to be able to say at home, and is generally 
considered argument enough against any amount of 
scepticism that may be exhibited. 

Luxor is certainly one of the most singular towns 
on the Nile ; the modern buildings crowd upon the 
ancient, and the mixture is often grotesque. The 
miserable mosque, and worse hovels, withinside the 
ruined temple; the crowd of pigeon-towers, and 
the appropriation to granaries and store-rooms of 
what were anciently the holiest chambers, — make 
confusion worse confounded, upon a first tour over 
these ruins. 

There is a wretched bazaar in this town — a series 
of sheds in a narrow lane leading to Karnac ; the 
divans in front of each are mere cubes of mud, and 
the articles for sale confined to those of the cheapest 
and worst class. Still there is no town that mixes 
up the old and new more strangely than this, 
or gives so good an idea of the state of these 
places when the earlier travellers visited them ; since 



KENEH TO THEBES. 



269 



which time many have been improved, the ruins 
cleared and freed of inhabitants, as at Dendera and 
Edfou. 

The fall of rain is so seldom noted by travellers, 
that although the assertion is not warranted, it is 
often made, — that " no rain falls at Thebes." On 
the day that I reached it, it rained heavily ; this was 
on the 29th of January. The clouds had been very 
heavy all the morning, and the whole aspect of Egypt 
was very like England in September. Thunder 
clouds had settled over the Lybian range, where 
the storm appeared to condense, and occasional 
rumblings from thence, accompanied by flashes 
of lightning, testified to the strength of the storm 
in that locality. 

I took an early opportunity of going ashore, and 
walking up to the Temple of Luxor. The extraordi- 
nary delicacy of the sculptured reliefs upon the 
walls of the smaller chambers, struck me most 
forcibly, and I here first felt the placid loveliness 
of ancient Egyptian art ; and although I had been 
conversant with these works at home, and had drawn 
from many of them, I felt that I had never seen 
them properly before. 

As I met a party of friends here about to start for 
Karnac, I went there first, in defiance of the solemn 
injunctions of Sir Gardner Wilkinson, who earnestly 



270 



UP THE NILE. 



advises the traveller to go there last. He is certainly 
right ; but the visitor who, like myself goes by 
accident, and with the intention of merely getting a 
general idea of this vast group of ruins, cannot do 
his visits to other places much harm by thus seeing 
the largest first, which is the only objection made. 
It is necessary that Xarnac be visited more than 
once, and thought over frequently. It is the largest 
mass of ruins in the world, and its plan most difficult 
to comprehend. I came away with no more than a 
general sense of its vastness and confusion ; and 
I found the other ruins at Thebes, help me after- 
wards to its better comprehension, when I ultimately 
went seriouslv to studv them. 

On leaving the ruins, and looking back upon them 
midway in the plain, the beauty of the vast group 
was wondrously enhanced by a brilliant rainbow that 
spanned the whole from side to side, and seemed to 
lift it upward toward its prismatic tints ; while the 
deep grey of the sky behind, acted as a foil to the 
ruins, lit up by the glare of the sun condensed in 
storm. I was fortunate in seeing so striking an 
effect, for I was told such a rain had not been 
experienced here for eight years. The natives seemed 
really alarmed at the occurrence ; it came upon us 
as we returned, and I got well soaked before I could 
reach the boat. The sun went down in lurid light, 



KEXEH TO THEBES. 271 

and at ten p.m., as I wrote my daily journal, I again 
heard the rain pattering on the roof of the cabin ; 
and as I looked through the windows, the fitful 
gleams of moonlight, succeeded by deep darkness, 
gaye greater vastness to solemn Luxor, 



272 



UP THE NILE, 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ANCIENT THEBES. 

Luxor is the farthest point attempted by the larger 
amount of travellers who ascend the river. Less 
than half their number do not penetrate beyond ; 
and of those who do, Edfon is the last place visited. 
Few get so far as Assouan, and fewer pass the 
cataracts to Abou-Simboul. Certainlv Thebes is a 
fitting culmination to a Nile journey ; which, if ended 
there, will have increased in its interest during the 
entire progress from Cairo, and terminated in a more 
vast, solemn, and wondrous assemblage of remains 
of the old world, than can be seen in any other land. 

There are intelligent native men on both sides the 
river, who act as guides to travellers; but it is a 
settled point of honour with them not to trespass on 
each other's district, so that each devotes himself to 
accompany the visitor upon his own side of tbe 
stream. By long habit they have obtained consider- 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



273 



able knowledge of the most important sculptured 
details on the various ruins, saving the traveller a 
vast amount of time and trouble in looking for them 
himself. Their local knowledge of course is perfect, 
for an Egyptian is no traveller except by dire 
necessity ; and is quite content to vegetate for life 
in his own town or village, if he have his merest 
wants supplied. A very intelligent and venerable 
old man, named Achmet Gournou, accompanied me 
over the side of the stream where the village lies 
from which he obtains his name. He had also 
accompanied the American artist, Bayard Taylor, 
Avho has done such good service by his illustrated 
books of travel, always pleasant, instructive, and 
elegant. Achmet knew very little English, but had 
contrived to use that small quantity judiciously, and 
make himself clearly understood. He had the 
natural tact to understand his visitors, allowing 
them to loiter if they chose ; but taking them at 
once to the most interesting points, if they desired 
to see them only, and not waste thought or energy 
over so vast a field as opens to them here. He 
knew all the gods perfectly well, and the subjects of 
the principal sculptures ; but his natural quickness 
and limited English gave much abruptness to his 
mode of bringing them to notice ; and " See ! 
Osiris ! " — " See ! Battle ! " are specimens of his 

n 3 



274 



UP THE NILE. 



style. I had much difficulty in keeping my gravity, 
so as not to offend tlie good old man, when he 
pointed to the offerings made to the gods, and 
exclaimed^ " See ! Lunch ! 99 

A ferry-boat carries passengers from Luxor to the 
opposite side of the river ; but the shore shelves 
so gradually that persons are landed on the backs of 
the fellahs, unless a horse be brought to the side of the 
boat and mounted, the top of a saddle being nearly 
upon a level therewith. Horses may be had on both 
sides the river, but they are a heavy, raw-boned set of 
animals. Donkeys and sharp donkey-boys are, of 
course, in profusion. It is most amusing at early 
morning to watch the first boat-load of visitors cross 
the river, and to see the rush from the various 
quarters, by donkeys and drivers, over the mile 
or so of sand between them and the landing-place, 
as they all converge towards it for custom, and 
tumble helter-skelter into the stream, in numbers 
far exceeding all necessary requirements. 

Once landed and mounted, it becomes almost 
irresistible to go straight on over the plain to the 
seated colossi, and examine those mvstic figures 
which, like the Sphinx at Ghizeh, have been im- 
pressed on all minds from the days of infancy. As 
they are midway from the other ruins we must visit, 
it is no bad plan to do this. The road we take was 



ANCIENT THEBES. 275 

anciently marked by lines of sphinxes leading 
towards theni, as they reposed in front of some 
noble temple. Now we pass over a long level of 
sand; and by an open road, through verdant fields 
of lentils, barley, wheat, and tobacco, the last grow- 
ing wild in every crevice formed by the sun, as its 
heat cracks into wide fissures the alluvial soil, and 
in which only it seems to particularly love to root 
itself. Distances are, as usual, very deceptive here ; 
and it is a half-hour's ride to what appears a half- 
hour's walk, as the road is seen from Luxor. 

It is useless to attempt a new description of these 
vast and wondrous statues, the admiration of all 
travellers, ancient and modern. Their impressiveness 
upon the thoughtful mind is as perfect as that of the 
more colossal Sphinx. It is impossible to look on 
these works of man's hand in their long endurance, 
without reflecting on the smallness of the span of his 
existence, in comparison with the lasting character of 
his own creations. Nothing is so humiliating to 
the animal man as this ; nothing so glorious as a 
proof that such a mental conformation must be 
destined for a greater immortality than his mere 
works in a perishable world. No art- work so nearly 
approaches the reality of the old Greek notions of 
god-like existence as the severely grand sculptures 
of the still more ancient Egyptians. The solemn 



276 UP THE NILE. 

dignity of eternal repose sits upon every figure. The 
world and its changes are as nothing to them : thou- 
sands of years would have passed traceless over their 
forms, for it is the hand of man that has injured 
what it cannot destroy : little less than the destruc- 
tion of the world itself coidd effect by natural agency 
the ruin of these masses of hard rock. 

The worst mischief has been done to that most 
Eastern figure, the far-famed " Vocal Meinnon.'* 
It was ruthlessly broken by the savage hands of the 
vindictive conquerors of Thebes, and restored by 
later rulers in the Roman era. These restorations 
consist of the lavers of sandstone that join head and 
bodv of the statue, orisinallv one solid mass of srrit- 
stone, standing on its now submerged pedestal the 
entire height of sixty feet above the plain. The 
sand and soil have encroached in the course of ages 
and buried this pedestal nearly to its summit : when 
the Nile is high, the land here is completely over- 
flowed, and the colossi not to be approached. They 
were no doubt originally not only on high pedestals, 
but on elevated ground, far from the danger of 
the stream, which now naturally irrigates Egypt 
doubtless to a greater extent than in ancient times. 
"Wilkinson has thus given their proportions : — " They 
measure about 18 feet 3 in. across the shoulders. 
16 feet 6 in. from the top of the shoulder to the 



ANCIENT] THEBES. 



277 



elbow, 10 feet 6 in. from the top of the head to the 
shoulder, 17 feet 9 in. from the elbow to the finger's 
end, and 19 feet 8 in. from the knee to the plant of 
the foot." Upon the pedestals are sculptured figures 
of the god of the Nile binding sheaves of water- 
plants, emblematic of the stability of the country. 
Small figures in high relief are beside the legs of the 
colossi, and are believed to delineate the wife and 
mother of the king whom they represent — Amu- 
noph III., who is identical with the Memnon of the 
Greeks and Romans. Upon the legs and feet of this 
statue are many antique inscriptions, recording the 
experience and feeling of the devout in the classic 
ages, who heard and believed in the supernatural 
character of the voice or sound that issued from the 
lips of the statue, when the sun's first beam struck 
upon its face from the opposite shore. The real 
nature of this sound seems to have been simple 
enough. Wilkinson has described it clearly and 
fully. He ascended to the lap of the figure, and 
found there a sonorous stone which emitted a me- 
tallic sound, " that might still be made use of to 
deceive a visitor who was predisposed to believe" the 
mystery — a squared space behind this stone would 
admit and conceal any person who might be placed 
there. The sound is described by the ancients as 
resembling the breaking of a harp string, or a blow 



278 



UP THE NILE. 



upon metal. That it required credulous faith, even 
to feel that it came from the head of the figure, is 
evident from Strabo's difficulty in determining 
whether it proceeded from the statue, the pedestal, 
or the smaller figures below. One such simple sound 
struck unexpectedly could scarcely be critically 
heard. Sometimes the figure was silent altogether 
when worshippers came, but sufficiently courtier-like 
when the Emperor Hadrian became a listener to 
utter its note three times, in flattering acknowledg- 
ment of the rovai presence. When Wilkinson struck 
the stone with a small hammer, haying placed pea- 
sants near it to tell him their impressions of the 
sound emitted, they exclaimed, " You are striking 
brass." " This/' he says, " convinced me that the 
sound was the same which deceived the Romans, 
and led Strabo to observe that it appeared to be the 
effect of a slight blow." Anxious to hear for myself 
this renowned note, I obtained a peasant from the 
village, who was used to ascend the broken side of 
the figure, to go up and strike it repeatedly. I noted 
in my journal a very simple simile — "the sound was 
exactly like the blow struck by a butcher on his 
cleaver." I think there is no reasonable shadow of 
a doubt that this is the solution of the whole 
mystery. 

In the rear of these colossi are the fragments of 



ANCIENT THEBES, 



279 



others, less large, but still stupendous. The temple 
which was the crowning point of the whole group 
has totally disappeared. Wilkinson is of opinion 
that the royal street, mentioned in some papyri 
found at Thebes, crossed the western portion of this 
suburb of that city, and communicated with the 
ferry at Luxor; the temple of the latter place and 
Karnac being again connected by an avenue of 
sphinxes. Nothing can be grander than the disposi- 
tion of the city and its buildings,, as still indicated by 
its fragments remaining. This Libyan suburb must 
also have possessed an elegance peculiar to itself, and 
worthy to combine with the renowned capital of 
Upper Egypt, the home of science and art in the old 
time, before Moses shared in the wisdom of its 
philosophers. 

The village of Gournou is a mere collection of 
farms and hovels sheltered by a few trees. We may 
trace among them the homes of Nubian peasants by 
the queer-looking gods of clay, stuck up as protectors 
over their small possessions, on the walls and gates 
of the hovels of these poor pagans. There is another 
peculiarity to be observed in the villages of Upper 
Egypt generally, and that is the groups of clay ovens, 
of all sizes and forms, erected by the people for bread 
baking. No house is without one of these, but in 
many instances each indulges in a group of them. 



280 



UP THE NILE. 



The fire is made below, the bread occupying the 
closed or open receptacles above. Our cut will give 
a good idea of their structure. 




Belzoni is very hard on the men here; he says, 
(< The people of Gournou are superior to any other 
Arabs in cunning and deceit, and the most inde- 
pendent of any in Egypt. They boast of being the 
last that the French had been able to subdue, and 
when subdued, they compelled them to pay the men 
whatever was asked for their labour ; a fact which is 
corroborated by Baron Denon himself. They never 
would submit to any one, either the Mamelukes or 
the Pasha. They have undergone the most severe 
punishments, and been hunted like wild beasts by 
every successive government of Egypt. Their situa- 
tions and hiding-places are almost impregnable."" 
In spite of this unfavourable opinion, it is impossible 
to help feeling that if a spirit of similar insubordina- 



AXCIEXT THEBES. 



281 



tion to such, a wretched and unjust government as 
that of Egypt had been more general, it would have 
been better for ruler and ruled, and the country 
could never have sunk so low as it has. cc They are 
the most unruly people in Egypt/' continues Bel- 
zoni ; " at various times many of them have been 
destroyed, so that they are reduced from three thou- 
sand, the number they formerly reckoned, to three 
hundred, which form the population of the present 
day. They have no mosque, nor do they care for 
one ; for though they have at their disposal a great 
quantity of all sorts of bricks, which abound in every 
part of Gournou from all the surrounding tombs, 
they have never built a single house/' They have 
an invincible dislike to cultivate the land, and " if 
left to their own will, would never take a spade in 
hand except to dig for mummies, which they find to 
be a more profitable employment than agriculture." 
Their clever tricks on travellers have been already 
alluded to. They make the most of a real discovery, 
such as a genuine papyrus, by breaking it in many 
pieces, and wrapping them round a false centre : they 
fabricate clay seals so that a very practised eye could 
scarcely detect the fraud ; and as they copy genuine 
cartouches, particularly that of Eameses the Great, 
which so frequently appears on the wails of the ruins 
here, the unsuspecting traveller is generally satisfied 



282 



UP THE NILS. 



by taking the witness of his own eyes to the 
" genuine " similarity of the work. Enormous prices 
are asked and sometimes obtained for these things ; 
but it is surprising how little they will receive if the 
traveller persevere in refusing to buy. Of course 
they have a first-rate knowledge of genuine articles, 
as they have made the fictitious, and they must often 
smile at the credulity of travellers who give large 
sums for absurd forgeries, which they carry home to 
boast over, and become irritated by cognoscenti who 
tell them the truth, though, as they angrily remark, 
" I got it myself, sir, at Thebes ! " 

Pursuing our ride northernly from the colossi, we 
reach the far-famed Memnonium, or Rameseum, a 
mass of ruins, confused, but beautiful. It is gene- 
rally believed to have been the palace-temple of 
Rameses II., the Sesostris of the Greeks, the office 
of king and chief priest uniting in the royal cha- 
racter ; and this, the greatest of Egyptian sovereigns, 
ascended the throne about 1311 years before Christ, 
according to Wilkinson's chronology : but it must 
be observed that Egyptian chronology is, and is ever 
likely to be, in a very uncertain state. To this 
powerful and warlike monarch Egypt is indebted for 
the finest monuments which decorated Egypt and 
Nubia, not only artistic, but stupendous in their 
character, and extending to the gigantic rock-cut 



AXCIEXT THEBES. 



283 



temples of Abou-Simboul. The ruins of the Mem- 
nonium consist of two courts and a grand hall ; but 
the whole much levelled and injured. The great 
gateway is in ruins ; but upon this and the walls of 
the courts are most interesting sculptures delineating 
the wars of the king with his Asiatic enemies, form- 
ing a series of pictures of the highest interest as 
exponents of the military tactics of this people. The 
sieges of cities and hill fortresses, the battles on 
plains and by rivers, the life of the camp, the subju- 
gation of the besieged, and the final triumph of the 
king, are given with admirable life and spirit ; while 
the details are rendered with all that scrupulous 
accuracy which has made Egyptian delineation so 
valuable, in enabling us to understand the minutest 
adjunct in the life of past ages : all is as conscien- 
tiously given by the hand of these old sculptors as 
could be done by the most modern photographer. 

The great wonder of this ruin is the broken 
statue of the king, which Hecatseus tells us was the 
largest in Egypt. Wilkinson observes that, " to say 
that this is the largest statue in Egypt will convey 
no idea of the gigantic size or enormous weight of 
a mass which, from an approximate calculation, 
exceeded when entire nearly three times the con- 
tents of the great obelisk of Karnac, and weighed 
about eight hundred and eighty-seven tons. 5 ' It 



284 



UP THE XILE. 



represented tlie king seated on liis throne, his hands 

resting on his knees, after the conventional style 

of Egyptian design, and similar to the colossi of 

the plain. Its foot is nearly 11 feet in length and 

4 feet 10 inches in breadth • across the shoulders it 

measures 22 feet 4 inches, and from the shoulder 

to the elbow is 12 feet 10 inches in length. 

To increase our wonder, this vast block of stone 

was transported from the quarries at Syene (the 

modern Assouan) , one hundred and twenty-four 

miles higher up the river. It now lies in shattered 

fragments beside the portico of the great hall, as 

shown in Plate XIY. Bv what means this vast 

t/ 

figure was overthrown, and split into fragments as 
easily as if it had been a porcelain image, is not to 
be defined. ATooden wedges firmly driven, and then 
soaked with water, would do this, and was a plan 
adopted in procuring the vast blocks of stone from 
the quarries by the ancient Egyptians; but the 
wedge holes are always to be detected, and in this 
statue there are no such things, or any other ap- 
parent modes of fracture. The head has been more 
injured than usual by the Arabs, who have cut mill- 
stones therefrom ; but the royal head-dress, and the 
eyes and ears of the bust, are clearly to be made out. 
Upon the shoulder is deeply cut the name in hiero- 
glyphics; the arms, and the ribbed dress of the 



ANCIENT THEBES. 285 

figure may also be clearly seen; but the lower por- 
tion of the statue is now a mere mass of fragments. 
The portico beside it is remarkable for its Osiricle 
pillars, clearly shown in our view. The god Osiris 
is represented with crook and whip held in his 
crossed arms, reposing against each pillar ; the crown 
which surmounted his head has, in all instances, 
disappeared. The figures are, it will be observed, of 
colossal proportion and much grandeur of style. 
Two lateral corridors of circular columns are con- 
nected with them. These columns are in the best 
antique taste, representing bundles of the stalks, 
buds, and petals of water-plants. It is much to be 
regretted, that this noble specimen of early archi- 
tecture is in so fragmentary and ruinous a condition. 
It has few rivals in Egypt. 

At the entry to this temple still lies the granite 
statue from which Belzoni took the head now in our 
British Museum, popularly known as the head of 
Memnon, the most celebrated monument of Egyp- 
tian art in any European collection, whether we 
consider its history, its colossal proportion, or the 
style of its sculpture. At the back are hieroglyphics 
which record the gifts of power and dominion, 
length of years, &c, by the god Axnun-Ba to the 
King Barneses II. The actual height of this bust is 
nearly nine feet ; consequently the entire figure was 



:286 



UP THE XILE. 



about twenty-fotir feet in height. There are traces 
of colour upon it. Its expression is that of majestic 
male beauty. The hole drilled in the right shoulder 
was made for. and the fracture across the left 
occasioned by. blasting : and believed to have been 
done by the French, during their occupation of the 
country, who by such means dissevered the head, 
no doubt with the notion of removing it. Belzoni was 
employed to remove it by the then British consul in 
Egypt. Henry Salt, at the suggestion of the traveller 
Burckliardt. and made his first journey up the Nile 
at their expense, after the failure of his labours for 
the Pasha as narrated in p. 57). Great difficulties 
beset his labour, and he made the Meinnonium his 
home while superintending the labourers : " a small 
hut was formed of stones, and we were handsomely 
lodged/*' says he. He has cut his name as a record 
upon the body of the figure, which still remains 
where it has lain for centuries. 

His account of its removal is of much interest : — 
"All the implements brought from Cairo to the 
Memiioniuni consisted of fourteen poles, eight of 
which were employed in making a sort of car to lay 
the bust on : four ropes of palm leaves, and four 
rollers, without tackle of anv sort. I arranged mv 
men in a row, and agreed to give them thirty paras 
a day. which is equal to fourpence halfpenny English 



ANCIEXT THEBES. 



287 



money, with which they were much pleased, as it 
was more by one-half than thev were accustomed to 
receive for their daily labour in the fields. The 
carpenter had made the car, and the first operation 
was to endeavour to place the bust on it. The 
fellahs of Gournou, who were familiar with Caphany, 
as they named the colossus, were persuaded that it 
could never be moved from the spot where it lay ; 
and when they saw it moved, they all set up a 
shout. Though it was the effect of their own efforts, 
it was the devil, they said, that did it ; and as they 
saw me taking notes, they concluded it was done by 
means of a charm. The mode I adopted to place it 
on the car was very simple ; for work of no other 
description could be executed by these people, as 
their utmost sagacity reaches only to pulling a 
rope, or sitting on the extremity of a lever as a 
counterpoise. By means of four levers I raised the 
bust, so as to leave a vacancy under it, to introduce 
the car; and, after it was slowly lodged on this, 
I had the car raised in the front, with the bust on it, 
so as to get one of the rollers underneath. I then 
had the same operation performed at the back, and 
the colossus was ready to be pulled up. I caused 
it to be well secured in the car, and ropes so 
placed that the power might be divided. I stationed 
men with levers at each side of the car, to assist 



288 



UP THE NILE. 



occasionally, if the colossus should be inclined to turn 
to either side. In this manner I kept it safe from 
falling. Lastly, I placed men in the front, distributing 
them equally at the four ropes, while others were 
ready to change the rollers alternately. Thus I 
succeeded in getting it removed the distance of 
several yards from its original place." Day by day 
the same slow process went on ; but as the fellahs 
found they received money for the removal of a 
stone, they entertained the opinion that it was filled 
with gold inside, and should not be allowed to be 
taken away; and ultimately orders came from 
Luxor that the natives were to stop work. Belzoni 
was at that time ill from the effects of the hot 
climate, but his proceedings were of the most 
vigorous order, — " I took my janizary with me, and 
crossed the water to Luxor. I there found the 
Caimakan, who could give me no reason for his 
proceeding but saucy answers, and the more I 
attempted to bring him into good humour by 
smooth words and promises, the more insolent he 
became." Belzoni was well aware that conciliation 
is merely looked on as cowardice by such a person, 
and a violent scene succeeded; he drew his sword, 
when Belzoni seized and disarmed him, gave him a 
good shaking, declared he would report him to the 
Pasha, and send him the pistols and sword he had 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



289 



endeavoured to 'use, " to show in what manner his 
orders were respected." He then hastened down the 
river to Erment, and after an absolute refusal, reversed 
only by a bribe,, got an order from the Cacheff there 
for the necessary amount of labourers. After sixteen 
days the bust arrived at the edge of the river ; but it 
was long before it was safely placed in a native 
vessel, and on its way to Cairo. The difficulties that 
beset Belzoni, from intrigues and jealousies, as well 
as the natural dangers of the undertaking, and the 
total want of proper men and material, testify loudly 
to the indomitable perseverance of the man who 
could successfully surmount them all. 

Near this is the older temple dedicated to Aniun. 
by Sethi, the father of Ramesis II., and completed 
by the latter king. It is covered with historic 
sculpture, but is confused in its ground-plan, and is 
less interesting among the vast group of important 
monuments which cover this plain, than it would be 
if isolated elsewhere. All around these remains are 
fragments of statues and ruined buildings. It is 
hopeless for the casual visitor to see one quarter of 
the objects which will crowd upon his attention, and 
which three months would not exhaust, though three 
days is the longest time often bestowed on them. 
Arab huts are built into many temples, and help to 
obscure others. The tombs are often converted into 

o 



290 



UP THE NILE. 



residences, and always so used by visitors ; they 
form clean and airy rooms, which are not the charac- 
teristics of house accommodation at Gournou. 

About five hundred yards to the north-west of 
the Memnonium is a tomb which appears to have 
been constructed for some one of the family of 
Amunoph III., whose name appears upon it. It is 
partially covered by Arab huts, and its chambers are 
now tenanted by donkeys, goats, and pigeons. The 
still dirtier human inhabitants guard the entry, and 
clamour for backsheesh, but it is well worth the 
trouble and trifling cost of a visit. Nothing in Egypt 
is more beautiful than the sculptures on the walls. 
They have a tenderness and beauty, combined with 
an elaboration of finish, perfectly charming. Art 
could not be carried farther. Like all ancient 
Egyptian sculpture, they are much superior to the 
later works of the Ptolemaic era. Putting their 
conventionality aside, it would be impossible for 
modern art to do more than rival them. They are 
not restricted to figures of gods and men, but in- 
clude many admirably executed scenes of ordinary 
life, which have been so valuable as exponents of 
Egyptian manners in the days of the nation's glory. 

And now how shall I in fitting words describe 
European Vandalism? Some of the finest of these 
bassi-relievi are splintered into fragments in the 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



291 



vain endeavour to cany away a part of their decora- 
tion, and a feeling of angry disgust is the only one 
that fills the mind of the spectator. If Dr. Lepsius' 
name had been mentioned less frequently in Egypt 
in connection with this and other serious mischief, 
a charitable disbelief might attach to the report of 
his doings. But it is impossible to indulge a doubt 
on this point. It is not abstraction alone, but 
reckless destruction that he has been guilty of. 

In advance of the spectator, up the hill sides, as 
well as over the surface of the plain, are the grave- 
caverns, or tombs, of the ancients. From the earliest 
times they have been plundered by the men of 
Gournou, to obtain the ornaments of the mummies, 
or the antiquities deposited with them. The search 
seems never ending, but always to be rewarded. I 
have noted a most valuable recent discovery in 
p. 78. When I was there, an exceedingly fine 
mummy was obtained, which was richly swathed, 
enclosed in a painted cartonnage, that again in a 
wooden case elaborately decorated, and ultimately 
enclosed in an outer case of cedar wood. All were 
as fresh as the day when they were executed, and of 
much artistic excellence. It passed into the posses- 
sion of Alfred Denison, Esq., who was then at 
Thebes ; and upon unrolling it, a touching memento 
revealed itself in a small bunch of mimosa flowers, 

o 2 



292 



UP THE XILE. 



which some affectionate hand had placed there, as a 
last tribute of living love., perhaps three thousand 
years ago. 

The mummies are not restricted here to mankind; 
deified animals also abound. J ackals, apes, crocodiles, 
and cats, are occasionally found as carefully prepared 
against decay. The ingenuity of the mummy-makers 
is displayed, not only in their successful modes of 
preservings but also in that of enveloping, these 
creatures. The bandages are sometimes arranged 
so that the different tints of the narrow strips of 



paid to them were only second to that of the sacred 
bull. When they died, their masters shaved their 




linen form a pattern, or a sort 
of chequer, as they overlap each 
other. This is particularly the 
case with the cat-mummies, one 
of which we engrave : and others 
may be seen in our National 
Museum. The paws of these 
creatures were folded close upon 
the body ; the bandage covering 
the head; rudely, but character- 
istically, painted like life. They 
were among the most sacred of 
the series of creatures respected 
by the Egyptians; the honours 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



293 



own eyebrows, to indicate grief, and gave the cats 
honourable burial. Diodorus tells us how careful 
they were to prepare proper rations of bread and 
fish for these household pets ; and that when a fire 
occurred in a building, the only anxiety of its 
proprietor was to save their lives. They accompanied 
their masters in fishing and fowling excursions ; and 
a cat so engaged is represented upon the walls of 
one of these Theban tombs : in our British Museum 
is the fragment of a fresco-paintings representing an 
Egyptian gentleman in his boat on the Nile, engaged 
in capturing wild fowl, his cat having leaped into a 
thicket of lotus plants, to secure the birds he has 
knocked down. To kill a cat, even inadvertently, 
was so gross a crime, that the classic writer just 
quoted assures us, the people would not save the life 
of a Roman who had done this, even though at the 
time they were most anxious to conciliate the Roman 
government. The great positive value of the cat was 
its watchful care in freeing houses of scorpions and 
other noxious creatures. It was sacred to Pasht, or 
Bubastes, the goddess principally worshipped at 
Thebes, and identical with the Diana of the Greeks, 
who was fabled to have taken the form of a cat, to 
escape the evil spirit Typhon. Plutarch speaks of 
the peculiar activity of the creature by night, the 
contraction of the eyes under lunar influence, &c. ; 



294 



UP THE NILE. 



hence the cat has been always popularly connected 
with the mysticisms of Luna or Hecate ; and the 
witches of mediaeval and modern times have always 
had their familiars under the form of a cat. The 
judicial proceedings of the witch-finders in the time of 
our James L, as well as the poetic pages of Goethe's 
" Faust/' connect the cat with witchcraft — an 
opinion largely held by the populace of all countries ; 
and by the peasantry of our own, who esteem a black 
cat as peculiarly " lucky to a house." The undying 
character of popular superstition is more certain 
than the stability of a religious faith. 

To ramble among these sepulchres, and examine 
their sculptures and painting, it is necessary to have 
full leisure ; they are too extensive for mere enume- 
ration, but sufficiently interesting to repay any in- 
vestigation. Among them is that celebrated one 
where the labours of the brickmakers are delineated. 
A recent traveller has well described this tomb in its 
present condition as "a nursery for tame pigeons, 
which resent intrusion by fluttering from side to 
side, and charging the atmosphere with impalpable 
dust. That under these circumstances the paintings 
should grow dim is not surprising, and it may be 
anticipated with regret that a continuance of this 
state of things will render them at no distant date 
hopelessly obscure." For a long time this famous 



AXCIEXT THEBES. 



295 



delineation was believed to represent the Israelites 
of Scripture engaged in the labours described in the 
books of Moses. Modern critical knowledge has, 
however, decided that so far from this being the 
case, it is not likely that the figures represent Jews 
at all, that the people of that nation were not so 
employed in Upper Egypt, and that, in fact, the 
only absolute contemporary illustration of the sacred 
narrative is the conventional figure of Rehoboam at 
Karnac, alluded to in a future page of this chapter. 
But this fact does not at all render this, or other 
pictured scenes of ancient Egypt, less valuable as 
illustrative of the manners and customs alluded to 
by Moses, and the prophets and chroniclers whose 
inspired labours make up our Bible. 

The most remarkable of the later sepulchres are 
those of the Assaseef, immediately in the rear of the 
palace-temple of Barneses. Wilkinson dates them 
in the seventh century before our era, and speaks of 
them as " not less remarkable for their extent than 
for the profusion and detail of their ornamental 
sculpture." It is, however, of a kind that tells more 
of wealth than true taste, and lacks the simple 
beauty of the earlier work, like that we see in the 
tomb of Amunoph, already spoken of. 

A chasm in the Lybian hills leads from Gournou 
to the Biban-el-Malook, the "gates" (of death?) or 



296 UP THE XILE. 

tombs of the kings. This dismal valley is almost 
unbearable in sultry weather. The sun strikes down 
like a burning glass between the limestone rocks^ 
and the heated flint and sands over which you travel 
make the entire journey more unpleasant than the 
desert itself. Not a breath of air circulates in this 
close defile,, where all is dry and desolate,, without a 
tree or blade of grass to relieve the eye from the 
yellow aridity. In my life I never felt heat like this, 
and more than once I feared I must have given up 
farther progress. After a short journey that seemed 
very long,, the winding road came to an end, the 
rocks forming a sort of semi-circular barrier. Some 
square apertures at their base revealed the entries to 
these many-centuries-renowned tombs. It seemed 
to me very like burying these ancient monarchs in a 
mundane hell — so hot, dry. and desolate is the place, 
the very last that modern ideas woidd associate with 
befitting or honourable sepulture. But the tombs, 
when once they are examined,, amply repay the trouble 
taken. Such wondrous resting-places for the dead 
exist nowhere else. Many have been open from the 
time of the Ptolemies, and it is most curious to trace 
upon the walls the inscriptions of visitors of the 
earlier eras. It shows that the indulgence of the prac- 
tice is by no means a modern taste ; but the ancients 
had not the puerile love of mere record of personal 



AXCIEXT THEBES. 297 

visits by the inscription of a name : they had some- 
thing to say with regard to the place, and they wrote 
it where it Tras never offensive, either in obliterating 
or disfiguring the sculptured or painted walls. They 
expressed their satisfaction by ex votos and inscrip- 
tions of various lengths ; and it is not without a 
peculiar interest we look on the name of the Athe- 
nian Daduchus, of the Eleusinian mysteries, vrho 
visited Thebes in the reign of Constantine, and who 
dates his visit " a long time after the divine Plato." 
The modern records are by no means so gratifying ; 
and we see disgusting traces of mischief and Van- 
dalism in the whole series of tombs, all the work of 
the present century. The scrawling of hideous 
names in the most conspicuous places is the least 
repulsive feature : many of the cartouches, once con- 
taining royal and other names of ancient date, have 
been entirely obliterated, and much other mischief 
is imputed to an European scholar, who has been 
desirous that his chronologic theory should not suffer 
by a reference to these authorities. In other instances 
portions of the sculpture have been endeavoured to 
be removed : a deep, coarse trench has been chipped 
all around the edge of a figure, or perhaps round its 
head only, to the destruction of the larger part of 
the figure, and the hieroglyphics above it ; and then, 
when the mischief has been effected, it has been 

o 3 



298 



UP THE NILE, 



found impossible to slice away from the main wall 
the coveted fragment. Many of the most interesting 
and beautiful sculptures have been thus wantonly 
destroyed, and the pleasure of visiting these won- 
drous old tombs is much alloyed by the pain given 
to every right-thinking mind through such cruel and 
wanton mischief. 

All these tombs are of great interest, but the 
visitor should not fail to pay more than usual atten- 
tion to four of them, which may be referred to by 
the numbers painted over their entrances by Wilkin- 
son, to whom all travellers owe a deep debt of gra- 
titude, as well for his unwearied labours for good 
throughout Egypt as for his literary home labours, 
and the excellent books he has added to our libraries, 
they are among the few that are valued the more 
they are studied at home, or tested abroad. No. 2 of 
his list bears the name of the King Eameses IV., 
and is described as u a small but elegant tomb. ;; 
The sculptures are all curious, but the most remark- 
able thing is the enormous granite sarcophagus, mea- 
suring eleven feet by seven, and more than nine feet 
in height. It is in one piece. The lid has a crocodile 
sculptured in relief upon it, and has been broken in 
two by the violence that forced in the side of this 
ponderous coffin. The mischief was probably done 
by Cambyses, who wantonly desecrated the temples 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



299 



and tombs of Egypt. From the Greek inscriptions 
on its walls it is known to have been one of the seven- 
teen open to visitors in the Ptolemaic era. No. 6 
is that of Rameses VII., and contains some very 
strange mystic paintings connected with human life 
and its hopes after death, which give great insight 
to the Egyptian faith, its belief in a future state, 
where happiness or misery must be the consequence 
of good conduct in the present life, and shadow forth 
the painful difficulties that must ever beset the mind 
and hand of the pious sculptor who would endeavour 
to embodv the ideas of religious mysticism. So 
wild and strange are many of them, that they seem 
almost the dreams of madmen — the human-legged 
and winged serpents, the various-headed gods, the 
awful array of wondrous beings of another world, 
engaged in conducting the soul, and testing the 
actions of the helpless, erring mortal, trembling in 
their stern presence. Such wondrous pictures are 
not to be tested by the ideas of to-day, but can only 
be faintly understood when we endeavour to go back 
to the past faith of a long-perished race. The 
whimsical and the grotesque then rise into the 
mystic and the awful ; and these walls tell solemn 
tales of the past aspirations of man's soul :— 

" The pleasing hope, the fond desire. 
The longing after immortality." 



300 



UP THE KILE. 



Miss Martineau well observes that " there is left ou 
these walls illustrations of a faith which the vulgar 
may take literally, or let alone as unintelligible, 
while to priestly eyes they once told more than we 
shall ever understand." Bunsen asks, "Who is to 
unravel for us the mute hieroglyphics of the Egyptian 
Pantheon ? Who will lead us up to the commence- 
ments and fundamental ideas of this enigmatical 
development, which was a puzzle to Greeks and 
Romans?" 

It must be in a more reverent spirit than actuates 
the larger number of travellers that these old tombs 
should be visited. A champagne pic-nic party cla- 
morously held in their passages, as is the usual 
fashion, is certainly not the proper mode. The in- 
nate irreverence of European visitors is daily and 
painfully apparent. Miss Martineau is one of the 
few travellers who have the honest sense to speak 
boldly. Eew think except as they are ordered; 
and fewer still express their thoughts. " Instead of 
endeavouring to ascertain the ideas, they revile or 
ridicule the manifestation, which was never meant to 
meet their conceptions, and can never be interpreted 
by them. Thus we, as a society, take upon ourselves 
to abhor and utterly despise the ' idolatry } of the 
Egyptians, without asking ourselves if we compre- 
hend anything of the principles of Egyptian theo- 



ANCIENT THEBES, 301 

logy. The children, on their stools by our firesides, 
wonder eternally how people so clever could be so 
silly as to pay homage to crocodiles and cats ; and 
their parents too often agree with them, instead of 
pointing out that there might be, and certainly were, 
reasons in the minds of the Egyptians which made 
it a very different thing with them to cherish sacred 
animals from what it would be in us." In our con- 
tempt for their symbolism we forget that we also 
adopt absurdities. Our mediaeval monograms and 
mysticisms are not impervious to criticism • nor can 
good taste justify the modern and monstrous con- 
coction of cherubs' heads with wings at the point of 
decapitation, where no muscles could move them, 
yet eternally flying, and singing without lungs ! 

Xo. 9 is another of those which were open in the 
Roman era, and is covered with Greek and Latin 
inscriptions by early visitors. I do not, however, 
find that they ever injured anything ; it has been 
left for the philosophers and men of the present 
time, and they have done it amply. It is beauti- 
fully decorated throughout, and is of great extent : the 
ceilings are particularly curious. A vast sarcophagus, 
as in No. 2, lies in fragments in the principal 
chamber. In it once reposed the body of the King 
Rameses X whose title of Miamnn may have led 
the Romans to term it "the tomb of Memnon." 



302 



UP THE NILE. 



No. 11 is the far-famed " harper's tomb" de- 
scribed by the ill-used traveller Bruce. It is of 
great extent and wonderful elaboration ; its walls 
covered with sculpture and painting of singular inte- 
rest. The name given here is that of Rameses III. 

" A king, he taketh. royal rest/' 

and appears to have been attended in death, as in 
life,, by the chief officers of his court, whose burial 
chambers are on each side of the long entrance 
gallery. Here the chief priest, minstrel, steward, 
armourer, boatman, chief cook, and other officers, 
had each a resting-place ; the walls of their funeral 
rooms being beautifully decorated with representa- 
tions of the emblems of their position in life. In that 
of the minstrel are the famous figures of harpers 
playing before the gods, which have been so fre- 
quently engraved and published, as remarkable for 
examples of the perfection to which this ancient 
nation had arrived in the musical art. The arrange- 
ment of the paintings upon the walls of this small 
chamber, which measures about six feet by eight, 
will be understood by our diagram. They are 
painted in flat tints, with a broad dark outline, upon 
what was once a white ground ; unfortunately, the 
harpers have been wantonly damaged at a compara- 
tively recent period. I was particularly anxious to 



ANCIENT THEBES. 303 

ascertain whether " one, if not both of the minstrels 
is blind," as Wilkinson states, and which I always 
doubted. They are not so depicted in the great 
French work on Egypt, or by Kosellini, and it seems 



FIGrUEES OF GODS. 



ENTEANCE. 



too much in accordance with modern association of 
ideas, imbibed from ballad poetry and romance ; but 
it must be now taken on trust, according to the 
authority most favoured, as the features of the face 
of each figure are entirely obliterated, and the lower 
part of one harp. On the other harp (that which is 
surmounted by a crowned head) a silly Frenchman 
has inscribed his name, and written on the sounding- 
board the trite sentiment that " la musique " em- 
bellishes life, and dissipates ennui ; and thus one of 
the most curious paintings in existence has been dis- 
figured and ruined. 



304 UP THE NILE. 

Belzonr's tomb, the first of the series, is that 
numbered 17. Its decorations are more exquisitely 
designed and painted than any other; its occu- 
pant appears to hare been Sethi, the father of 
Eameses II. ; and he seems to have been interred, 
and the tomb closed, before the entire series of 
decorations were completed. The attention of Bel- 
zoni was directed to it by the Arabs, who had noted 
the sinking of the soil above its entrance on the 
hill side. The chambers and passages extend three 
hundred and twenty feet into the rock, and are 
reached by a very steep stair ; consequently visitors 
descend by inclined planes or staircases, leading to a 
chamber, where all further progress seemed to be 
barred to Belzoni's excavators, by a deep pit, which 
occupied its furthest side. This pit was, in reality, 
contrived not only to deceive explorating despoilers, 
but to act as a drain for the rain-water that some- 
times descends among these hills (as I had seen it) ; 
another proof (as at Dendera, see p. 248) that the 
Egyptians feared these showers ; and not without 
reason, as rain has much injured the walls and deco- 
rations of this tomb since Belzoni filled this pit. A 
hollow sound, emitted on striking the wall above, 
induced him to batter it in ; and a series of magni- 
ficent halls rewarded his exertions. The first hall 
entered is supported by four square pillars, each side 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



305 



covered with a figure of a god in basso-relievo, richly 
adorned with colour of the most brilliant hue, and 
with a glossy surface. This chamber has been aptly 
termed "the hall of beauty." In the adjoining one 
is a curious series of groups, depicting people of 
various nations and complexions. In another, is an 
equally remarkable series of outline drawings, ex- 
hibiting the mode in which these bassi-relievi were 
commenced. First of all, a series of lines covered the 
wall j they were parallel and horizontal, and crossed 
each other at equal distances, forming a set of 
squares, in which was delineated in outline the figure 
to be sculptured, its exact proportion being thus 
ensured. The form and attitude were always strictly 
conventional, and when completed in red colour, 
a master-eye went over and corrected it, if faulty, 
with a black line, as may 



be seen in some of these 
figures. A side chamber, 
to the left of the great 
hall, is remarkable for hav- 
ing a broad bench round 
three of its sides, cut, like 




the room itself, from the ^ 
rock, in form like the cor- 
nice of a temple, as shown in our cut ; it is about four 
feet from the ground. " This," says Belzoni, " I 



306 



UP THE NILE. 



called the f sideboard room/ as it has a projection of 
three feet, in form of a sideboard, all round, which 
was perhaps intended to contain the articles neces- 
sary for the funeral ceremony." There are also 
small niches in the wall for figures of the gods. 
The principal chamber adjacent, he says, " I named 
the Bull's or Apis' room, as we found the carcase of 
a bull in it, embalmed with asphaltum ; and also, 
scattered in various places, an immense quantity of 
small wooden figures of mummies, six or eight inches 
long, and covered with asphaltum to preserve them. 
There were other figures of fine earth, baked, 
coloured blue, and strongly varnished. On each 
side of the two little rooms were some wooden 
statues, standing erect, four feet high, with a cir- 
cular hollow inside, as if to contain a roll of papyrus, 
which I have no doubt they did. We found, like- 
wise, fragments of other statues of wood and of com- 
position." But the grandest relic of all found 
here, occupied the centre of the chamber, and was 
placed immediately over the staircase to a long, sub- 
terraneous passage ; and this was the renowned 
alabaster sarcophagus, elaborately covered with 
sculpture, afterwards brought to England by Belzoni, 
purchased by Sir John Soane, and still in his resi- 
dence in Lincoln's Inn Square, willed by its owner to 
the British nation. It was impossible to stand in 



ANCIENT THEBES 307 

this now deserted and desecrated hall, and look on 
its pictured walls, as the figures came dimly forth by 
the light of torches, without a strange feeling of its 
ravstic solernnitv. I was alone with old Achraet. 
whose foot-fall could not be heard, as he glided 
ghostlike, in his white robes, to add a few more 
fragments to the handful of cane- sticks he had lit 
upon the floor, and which gave a lurid and transient 
light to the roof, displaying still more strange and 
quaint imaginings, typical of the ancient faith. It 
seemed as if the ideas of antiquity were briefly shown 
but to bewilder us ; and as the light faded, and they 
a^ain flowed into darkness, it was the Terr realisa- 
tion of the oblivious mystery that is destined to 
shroud them for ever. The crackling of the dying 
embers was succeeded bv a solemn silence, and a 
darkness that aided serious thought. In my life I 
have never been more impressed than during those 
few minutes. 

" The kings of the nations, even all of them, lie 
in glory, each in his own house/^ are the grand 
words of Isaiah : was there ever a more noble illus- 
tration of Scripture phraseology in its literal truth- 
fulness than this tomb affords ? in which a monarchy 
at once the chief of his people and the high priest 
of his faith, rests with the most sacred things con- 
nected therewith. 



308 



UP THE NILE. 



It is incomprehensible to me how scholars and 
gentlemen can raise a rude hand to destroy, as well 
as despoil, these royal resting-places. I have noted 
this desecration elsewhere, but in Belzoni's tomb 
still worse mischief has been done. The beauty of 
its workmanship has been " a fatal beauty " here 
also, and the hand of the spoiler has fallen heavily 
upon it. Champollion abstracted many fine slabs, 
and destroyed the general effect of its noblest parts. 
The square columns that support its roof have been 
in some places literally chipped to pieces, and a rude 
irregular core only remains where sculptures and 
painting of unrivalled beauty once existed. If the 
rude hand of mischief had been directed by the 
slightest judgment — if the faces had been sawn in 
slabs from the substance, and so carried to European 
museums — some excuse might be framed ; but what 
has been done here, as well as the way in which it has 
been effected, surely is too bad : it is inexcusable and 
vulgar barbarity. It is much to be regretted that 
this should have been done, to the discredit of 
science, during the three years that the Prussian 
scientific expedition remained in Egypt. "Every- 
where this body made free use of the hammer 
and the crow-bar " savs a recent writer. It was 
by Lepsius' orders that one of the two beautiful 
pillars supporting the roof of the small sepul- 



ANCIENT THEBES. 309 

chral chamber leading from the great hall of this 
tomb was roughly broken down, the lower portion 
smashed to fragments, the upper at last falling, and 
when down, having been found to be too large for 
removal through the door, left in hideous ruin on the 
floor. The reckless stupidity of this proceeding is 
equal in reality to Goldsmith's invented absurdity 
of the Vicar of Wakefield's family picture, too large 
to pass through any door of his house. 

It was with a great sense of relief on getting to 
the open air, that our guide proposed to return by 
a short cut cc over the Gebel/' and avoid a return by 
the horrible valley. Up the rough mountain side 
we immediatelv ascended : the horses and donkevs 
clambering, even better than the bipeds, the steep, 
rough, shingly slopes. A false step might in some 
places have been fatal to any of us. On reaching 
the summit, a cool north wind relieved us from the 
heat of the limestone around. Here some circular 
mounds, formed of rough pieces of rock, mark a 
series of Coptic graves. Passing them, you arrive 
at the edge of a precipitous descent, and the plain 
of Thebes is suddenly revealed, a grand and won- 
derful sight ! Far below, lie ruined towers and 
temples ; the green plain, with the vast colossi now 
dwindled to toy-like images ; the noble river wind- 
ing in the midst ; on the opposite bank, Karnac 



310 



UP THE NILE. 



and Luxor, the distance bounded by the Arabian 
mountains. 

"Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 
A sight so touching in its majesty. 5 ' 

I could readily fancy an old Egyptian bringing a 
stranger to this spot to overwhelm liim with surprise 
when "the hundred-gated Thebes" was in all its 
glory, and the cc Lybian suburb " below us crowded 
with temples and palaces. From this high point an 
excellent view is obtained of the mounds which once 
enclosed the sacred lake beyond Medinet-Abou, 
across which the dead were ferried in the funeral 
barge, accompanied by the pomp that religion and 
wealth occasionally displayed. The descent of the 
hill is more difficult than the ascent, a narrow 
winding ledge without any support or defence from 
a false footstep, is all that aids the traveller's course. 
About midway the rocks are quarried into mummy- 
pits and funereal caves. The men of the district are 
continually searching them for antiquities to sell to 
visitors, and the bodies, rudely broken up, are flung 
about the cliffs, with torn rags fluttering around them, 
in ghastly confusion. 

At last we reached level ground, and trotted to 
the right, to the palace-temple of "Medinet-Abou, 
one of the most interesting buildings in Egypt, a 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



311 



pile that has been added to by the Egyptian mo- 
narchs through a long succession of years, and 
bears names from the early days of Thothmes II. 
(b.c. 1464) down to those of Antoninus Pius, who 
added the columns and screens to the northern end 
of the temple. It is therefore an epitome of 
Egyptian art and history, while the palatial residence 
beside it is unique as a specimen of the royal home 
of its sovereigns. Like all buildings thus added to 
and altered in a long succession of years, its general 
plan is somewhat confused ; but its sculptured walls 
are sufficient to repay any attention devoted to them, 
and much of the manners and customs, wars, and 
religion of the old world, may be studied there. 
Some of the hieroglyphics are cut with singular 
boldness to the depth of six inches. All the pictorial 
scenes are of much interest, and retain traces of the 
colour which once made these walls as resplendent 
as the illuminated pages of a mediaeval manuscript. 
There is an occasional con- 



ventional treatment of the 
objects thus delineated, but a 
little thought will make them 
clear. One is here selected 




as a specimen ; it might at 

first sight be taken for a helmet surmounted by a 
feather, but is in fact a rush basket, piled with ripe 



312 



UP THE NILS. 



figs, covered with a green palm leaf, as is still the 
usage in Egypt, and is one of a series of offerings 
placed before the gods. The battle scenes here are 
of much interest, from the minutiae of their details. 
Some enthusiastic students, who have become at- 
tached to the ancient Egyptians by studying their 
civilisation, seek to prove them to have been better 
than they display themselves. The heaps of hands, 
and other members of the bodies of their enemies, 
here piled before the victorious king ; as well as the 
representations elsewhere of the king sacrificing 
groups of unfortunate captives, or blinding them by 
coolly thrusting his spear into their eyes ; is sufficient 
to shovr that the refinement of the Egyptians, like 
that of the modern Asiatics, may co-exist with re- 
volting and merciless crueltv. It is not by anv 
means clear that the human sacrifices, represented 
on tombs and temples, are to be explained away 
in their favour as merely symbolical, if we are to 
take all other representations as literally true pictures 
of their every- day life. 

That portion of the ruin which formed the palace 
of the fourth Rameses is a tall tower-like building, 
containing many small rooms, all decorated with 
sculptures, representing among other things the 
monarch in his harem, playing chess or draughts 
with the ladies of his court. The architectural 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



313 



details of this building are very curious and valuable, 
the building being much more perfect than usual, 
even to the embattle- 
ments, which are of that 
semi-circular form seen 
upon ancient Egyptian 
and Assyrian sculpture. 

Our cut exhibits the summit of one of these 
towers. 

The grand court of the temple is very fine in its 
character and proportions. The pillars are in the 
massive antique taste, square, or like bundles of 
water-plants, believed by Wilkinson to represent the 
papyrus, and not the lotus, as generally supposed. 
The colour, which once decorated them entirely, has 
been preserved to a considerable extent, and the 
court u may be looked upon as one of the finest 
which adorn the various temples of Egypt," says the 
authority just quoted. At an early period the 
Christians of the Greek church converted it into a 
place for their own worship, and aline of columns, in 
advance of the Egyptian series, surround the interior, 
and were used to support the rafters inserted in the 
ancient entablature. The capital of one of these 
columns is engraved on the next page. The smaller 
apartments, which held the shrines of the Egyptian 
gods, became the habitation of the Christian priests, and 



314 UP THE NILE. 

the sculptures which covered the walls were carefully 
plastered with mud or stucco, forming a groundwork 

for the rude distemper 
pictures of saints and 
martyrs which succeeded 
them . The village, dur- 
ing the time of the 
Lower Empire, was of 
considerable size, and 
the residence of a bi- 
shop. It declined with 
the inroads of the Arabs, 
who made it unsafe for its timid inmates ; they there- 
fore Hed to the neighbourhood of Esne. The large 
group of ruined residences that now crowd the 
vicinity of the temple prove its size and importance, 
and at a distance still give it the aspect of a large 
inhabited settlement. 

There is a small, but beautiful little temple, 
situated in a secluded valley immediately behind the 
palace-temple just described. It is known as Dayr- 
el-Medeeneh, and was once also used as a Christian 
church. It was begun by the later Greek rulers of 
Egypt, and finished by their Roman successors. In 
its construction, wooden dovetails, or cramps of syca- 
more, have been extensively employed to connect 
the stones, which are in many places disjointed ; and 




ANCIENT THEBES. 



315 



the walls rent, in consequence of excavations made 
too near them. The entire measurement of the 
temple is only 60 feet by 33 ; it was enclosed by a 
wall, the brick being laid in concave and convex 
courses alternately. Near it are mounds bounding the 
great lake, to which attention was directed in de- 
scribing the view from the summit of the hill behind. 
The tombs of the Egyptian queens are in a small 
valley still more to the northward ; they are the 
least interesting of the entire series on this side the 
Nile. They are in a most ruined and injured con- 
dition, from the effect of fires which have destroyed 
their contents and obliterated their sculptures, — the 
desecrating work of the Persian conqueror, Cam- 
by ses, whose vindictive revenge on the Thebans for 
their resistance to his invasion led him to destroy as 
much as he could of all that they held sacred. 

The reader will gather from these brief descrip- 
tions of the remains on this western bank of the 
Nile, that the old " Libyan suburb " (as the ancients 
termed it) has the most varied series of buildings, 
covering a much larger surface, and occupying more 
time in investigation, than the opposite shore. But 
now, to use Belzoni's words, " after having described 
the tombs, the mummies, the rocks, and the rogues 
of Gournou, it is time to cross the Nile, and return 
to Karnacf." We will therefore imagine the river 

p 2 



316 



UP THE NILE. 



crossed, and the town of Luxor left behind, as we 
emerge on the plain, with the ruins of Karnac about 
three miles and a half distant. The village we pass 
midway is characterised by all that squalor and dust 
so disagreeably prevalent in Egypt. A short dis- 
tance beyond, and the remains of the grand avenue 
of sphinxes are seen leading to the gate of Karnac. 
They are much mutilated, but their design is appa- 
rent, consisting of seated ram-headed sphinxes of 
colossal proportion, each bearing a small figure of 
the king between its fore-paws. They terminate 
at a noble gateway, nearly eighty feet in height, 
covered with sculptures representing the King Pto- 
lemy Evergetes, and his sister-wife Berenice, sacri- 
ficing to the gods. Passing through this, another 
line of sphinxes leads to the propylseuni of an isolated 
temple, which again connects itself with the centre 
of the more ancient and imposing great hall, the 
most colossal work of its kind in Egypt. TTe there- 
fore thus enter by a side way, and not by the prin- 
cipal one, which faced the river (the stream about 
a mile distant), and from which an avenue of human- 
headed sphinxes lined the road up to the spacious 
courtyard, with its gigantic propylEeum, before which 
were placed obelisks and colossal statues. Then the 
visitor entered a hall, the proportions of which well be- 
fitted the grandeur of its approach. Here so vast an 



ANCIENT THEBES. 317 

assemblage of ruins awaits the inspection of the tra~ 
veller, that a bewildering sense of quantity and con- 
fusion is the first thing he feels ; and it is not until 
he has time for a little reflection, and the experience 
of reducing all into a proper order, that he can com- 
prehend what he has come so far to see. Karnac, 
the most wonderful assemblage of ruins, perhaps, at 
present existing, is so broken up into vast masses of 
stone, its various halls and courts so mixed up and 
confused in the debris, that it is long before it 
resolves itself into anything like its pristine form. 
It is here we begin for the first time to see a work 
of great utility begun, and still continuing, under the 
auspices of the Egyptian government. It is the 
clearing of these ruins of the vast accumulation of 
earth and sand which has half buried them for ages. 
What the labour has been may be guessed from the 
mounds of earth, that look like railway embank- 
ments, as they stretch from the great towers of the 
temple towards the river. All this encumbered the 
ruins ; but principally buried the vast courtyard in 
front of the great hall. These excavations were only 
concluded the vear before last. The Pasha had 
intended to hold a fete in this court, on his way 
to Esne, and amuse himself by witnessing the 
games with horse and spear for which the Arabs 
are so famed • but he did not stay, for some of the 



318 



UP THE NILE, 



capricious reasons which guide the erratic course of 
Eastern potentates. Still the good was done, and 
the ruins cleared. It was, however, done in the 
usual tyrannic style. An impressment of the pea- 
santry of the surrounding villages was made, and 
the forced labour of one thousand hands thus 
secured ; the order was a sudden one, and the work 
had to be undertaken and completed as quickly. 
The people laboured continuously, and in eighteen 
days the work was effected. The poor people thus 
unjustly taxed are not paid, or even fed; nor are 
they provided with proper working tools. They bring 
with them a rush basket, and sometimes the pick 
with which they labour in the fields ; with the 
latter they pull down the earth into the baskets, 
which they raise to their shoulders, and so carry it off ; 
but many have no pick, and then they are compelled 
to scratch the earth into their baskets with their 
fingers, under the surveillance of government officials, 
who lie and smoke all day, looking on the labourer, 
and occasionally applying the courbash, a whip of 
hippopotamus hide, to his shoulders, if he flag at 
his work. No such thing as a spade or barrow aids 
them in carrying their heavy burdens, nor have 
they a plank to aid their ascent of the dusty mounds, 
which they increase as they toil on. A bit of coarse 
bread, sometimes boiled with a few lentils, is their 



ANCIENT THEBES. 319 

food, plain water their drink ; at night they wrap 
themselves in their rags, and make the earth their 
bed. 

The mischief done to Karnac was chiefly effected 
by the vindictive Cambyses, as well as by after 
sieges and earthquakes ; but the defacement of the 
fine historic sculptures is the work of the more 
modern Turks, who dislike representations of the 
human form ; hence their bullets have battered the 
faces of men and gods until they have too frequently 
become almost an indistinguishable mass of shot 
holes. This is the more to be regretted, as they are 
among the finest examples of the best era of Egyp- 
tian art, the reign of Rameses II. (b.c. 1311-1245). 
Nothing can exceed the delicacy and beauty of exe- 
cution which characterise these early works • and 
the historic scenes on the outer walls of the great 
hall are unrivalled in interest as representations of 
the " panoply of war/' and all its most minute in- 
cidents at this era. It is much to be regretted that 
M. Mariette, the present superintendent of the 
Pasha's museum and works, should have committed 
the grievous error of obscuring a large part of the 
most interesting of these sculptures. The earth 
excavated in the vicinity has been piled against the 
wall in a manner perfectly inexcusable ; there 
is waste ground enough opposite these very walls. 



320 



UP THE NILE. 



Surely Egypt is very unfortunate in never obtaining 
a scholar who can reverently preserve her wondrous 
monuments. I spoke warmly on tlie beauty and 
interest of these old historic sculptures to the intel- 
ligent old man who was my guide.' " They are con- 
tinued there/' said he, pointing to the rubbish-laden 
wall beyond ; " but I can see them no more/' he 
added, in tones as regretful as any true antiquary 
would utter at this careless and wanton proceeding. 

The recent excavations have brought to light some 
new chambers, exhumed walls with Osiride columns, 
revealed avenues of sphinxes, which formed the 
approach to the temple from various quarters ; and 
will, if properly conducted, aid us to a clearer com- 
prehension of this, the greatest national edifice of 
the old world. But it behoves M. Mariette to be 
careful in his labours. If we are only to obtain one 
thing by the obliteration of another, he may do 
more harm than good, inasmuch as his discoveries 
may not equal our losses ; and we would even now 
recommend him to employ labourers to remove the 
rubbish he has thrown against the finest and most 
interesting portions of the building. 

It is fortunate for us that this ancient people 
delighted to record in pictured form " the story of 
their life from year to year/' and thus give us — what 
we could obtain by no other means — a perfect notion 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



321 



of their manners and customs. The valuable history 
of Herodotus sinks into comparative insignificance 
before this complete revelation of the arts, public 
and private, of this grand old nation. Their temples, 
tombs, and palaces thus serve a double purpose : 
they are illustrated volumes descriptive of long-past 
ages. There we behold their mystic gods, or see 
(enthralled by the strange fascination of the study) 
the wild and wondrous imaginings that crowd the 
walls, and endeavour to portray the deep mystery of 
man's life, here, and hereafter. The great events 
that made Egypt glorious, also find a pictured 
record ; we see the sovereign sally forth to war, we 
view the armed phalanx, we see the carnage of 
the battle, we look upon the heaps of slain; and 
when we see the king again return victorious, cap- 
tives of all countries are brought before him, the 
slain are recounted by the scribes, and heaps of 
dissevered hands are piled from the defunct bodies 
of his enemies before his throne. We may then 
study him in his retirement, playing draughts with 
his queen, or hunting with his trained panthers in 
chariots of Oriental magnificence, or fishing in his 
lakes, or sailing in his decorated barge on the ever- 
loved river which his people deify. Thus much is 
done for the history of the land and its rulers ; but 
even more has been done for its people, inasmuch as 

p 3 



322 



UP THE NILE. 



the tombs present a series of representations of the 
occupations of every-day life, so vivid, truthful, and 
various, that from them we have a clearer insight of 
what the scenes were that constantly met the eye in 
this favoured land even before Moses knew it, and 
are the better able to understand from them the habits, 
manners, and civilisation of the people than those of 
our own countrymen in the comparatively recent 
days of the Saxon heptarchy, or, perhaps, even 
during the middle ages, from what they have left 
to us. Our knowledge of the high state of art and 
luxury in this favoured region three thousand years 
ago is thus obtained, not merely from the statements 
of the most ancient writers, sacred and profane, but 
from an examination of the monuments left by the 
people themselves; and not the least extraor- 
dinary feature in these ancient works is the exquisite 
beauty they frequently possess — a beauty that de- 
creases only as they approach comparatively modern 
times. Thus the sculptures of the era of Moses are 
far finer, more truthful, delicate and beautiful than 
those of the reign of the Ptolemies; and these again 
are more so than those which were produced under 
Roman rule. 

The vast columns of the great hall are covered 
with hieroglyphics, and figures of the king sacrificing 
to the god Khem, the deity of generation, to whose 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



323 



worship the temple was devoted, and whose mundane 
influence made him one of the most important 
deities of paganism. These columns are of much 
elegance, and are still brilliant with fragments of the 
colour which once richly decorated them. The 
gigantic character of this noble hall will be best 
comprehended by Wilkinson's measurements. It is 
170 feet by 320 feet; each column is 62 feet high, 
exclusive of plinth and abacus, and 11 feet 6 inches 
in diameter. At each side of the central avenue 
were placed seven lines of smaller columns ; but 
only small by contrast, being 42 feet 5 inches in 
height, and 28 inches in circumference. Plate XV., 
sketched from one side of the centre of this hall, 
shows three pillars in advance of the grand central 
series, looking through the side court on the fallen 
column, which is so effective a termination to the 
view through its doorway. There are one hundred and 
twenty-two of these lesser columns ; the massive roof 
which they once supported is gone, but the colossal 
character of its stones may be inferred from the 
space between each column, as well as from those in 
other parts of the building, the lintels of the doorway 
being 40 feet 10 inches in length. We know the 
Egyptians were a small race of men, or we might 
infer from their works that they were a race of 
giants. 



324 



UP THE NILE. 



Passing through this hall we come to a smaller 
gateway, isolated temples and sanctuaries, most con- 
fusing to the visitor, who has frequently to clamber 
over masses of stone to reach them. In a narrow 
passage to the right is a sculptured record of 
the conquests of Sheshonk, the Shishak of Scrip- 
ture, which is of the greatest interest, and was first 
pointed out by Champoilion in a hurried visit he 
paid to the ruins on his way to Nubia. It occurs in 
the third line of a row of sixty-three prisoners pre- 
sented by the agency of the 
god Amunra to Sheshonk, who 
thus, as usual, attributes his 
victories to Divine influence. 
Each figure, or rather half- 
figure, has his arms tied be- 
hind him, a rope round the 
neck, and is placed upon a tur- 
retted oval, indicative of a 
walled city, within which is 
the name. In this instance it 
is ec Judah Melek," the king of 
Judah, the Rehoboam of Scrip- 
ture, whom Sheshonk deposed ; 
this is, therefore, the only direct illustration of Scrip- 
ture history the monuments of Egypt present to our 
view. Indirect ,but most valuable illustrations abound, 




ANCIENT THEBES. 



325 



as already explained. But even this must not be 
taken as a true portrait of the king, but the con- 
ventional type used as indicative of an Asiatic ; for, 
in reference to the companion figures, we shall find 
them all cast in one mould, with nothing but 
national individualism, of the broadest idnd, to 
distinguish them. 

This great temple was the pride of old Egypt ; ail 
its rulers vied with each other in adding to, and 
decorating it. When Cambyses, after a protracted 
siege of three years, conquered Thebes, he wildly 
revenged himself on the Thebans, destroying this 
then famous temple, and Thebes itself, as much as 
lay in human power to do. After this fatal dese- 
cration, though a few repairs were occasionally 
attempted, the temple and the town sank gradually 
to oblivion. 

Vast ruins stretch on all sides from these central 
halls ; and if the roof of one be ascended, the visitor 
may obtain the best idea of what must have been the 
original effect of that grand assemblage, a few ruined 
fragments being still the most astounding group of 
building in the world. Halls, temples, sanctuaries, 
cells, obelisks, statues, crowd upon the eye in 
bewildering confusion — the vast tank outside, and 
the boundary walls, the long lines of sphinxes, and 
the temples at Medamot and Luxor, completing the 



326 



UP THE NILE. 



distant survey. The former of the temples lies inland 
to the east, and consists of little more than the 
portico ; it is first visited by travellers who come to 
Thebes from the Red Sea, by way of Cosseir, but there 
is nothing in it to deserve a journey from Karnac. 

Karnac is less infested by begging natives than 
usual, and so are the Theban ruins generally. The 
custom — a good one — of securing native guides, and 
paying them a fixed fee, prevents this annoyance. 
Both guides and donkey-boys are here extremely 
intelligent and amusing. I had one of the latter 
genus who knew a little of many languages ; he was 
barely fourteen, but was engaged to be married the 
next year. He had picked up his words from 
travellers, and always had his ears open to a new 
phrase. He had been much delighted by some 
sentimental lady who had continually used the word 
exquisite, to characterise Karnac; and he was de- 
lighted in repeating it, broken in two by a sudden 
accent on the %, and rendered absurd by a hiss on 
the s. On returning from the ruins he kept up a 
continual talk, as he ran by the donkey's side, after 
this fashion : — "Ingleez mi-Lord say Karnac taib — 
good — very fine ! Ingleez mi-Lady say c Ex-quizzit 
Karnac ; — yes — Ex-quizzit ! Mine good donkey — 
him called Captain Slick — me Mustapha — yes — good 
boy — you give backsheesh. Good donkey- — oh yes ! 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



327 



— him better than steamboat ! " This was the grand 
climax of donkey-boy' s similes. 

Luxor is much encumbered with buildings of a 
modern kind, and buried in sand to a great depth, so 
that the seated figures of colossi in front of the 
towers are covered to their necks in it. One of the 
obelisks now stands in the centre of the Place de la 
Concorde, in Paris; it would be well if the other 
were removed, for it looks particularly awkward 
alone ; but England cannot afford money or enthu- 
siasm for this, or much else that an intellectual 
nation should do. The towers are much decayed, 
and the sculptures delineating the wars of Rameses 
are partially obliterated. Within the great court, a 
mosque, and a perfect colony of dirty hovels, sur- 
mounted by high pigeon-towers, prevent its due 
examination. Passing through this, we ultimately 
reach the line of double columns (part of the great 
hall) in front of the British consul's house. The 
various chambers beyond are used as granaries, or 
are appropriated as underground stores for a house 
built at the extremity. There is one very interesting 
apartment, which has been converted, in later Roman 
time, into a hall of audience or justice; the hiero- 
glyphical walls have been covered by stucco, and 
upon that a series of pictures painted, with an 
imitation dado of coloured marbles under them. 



828 



UP THE NILE. 



From the costumes I should judge tliem to be of 
the fifth or sixth century, as they resemble the 
paintings and mosaics of that era in Italy. Corin- 
thian columns of porphyry stand in advance of an 
arched recess,, which has been broken into the older 
Trails ; within is painted three togated figures, the 
central one having a long wand or sceptre in the 
right hand. An equestrian procession, of which 
few traces remain, is on one side ; and the fragments 
of some elaborately-dressed figures on the other, 
resembling those of the late Byzantine emperors. 
Where the stucco is broken away, the original 
Egyptian bassi-relievi come forth, and there is a 
calm and finished beauty about them worthy of 
attention. 

I felt here what I have often felt elsewhere — that 
the great art of a nation, or the great work of a 
master, can only be fully known and valued when 
seen in its own country, or its native place. Carried 
elsewhere, or disunited from its proper adjuncts, it is 
always deteriorated. The calm, glowing sunlight of 
Egypt gives to the vast figures, in bassi-relievi, a 
softness and beauty they could not receive elsewhere. 
They are like gigantic camei, and as delicate and as 
lovely. The sharpness, cleanness and warmth of 
tint, also bestowed by the wondrous atmosphere of 
Egypt, completely change the character of these 



ANCIENT THEBES. 



329 



ancient works from what they receive in our gloomy 
land, and gloomier British Museum. In the same 
way pictures dissevered, like the Madonna cli San 
Sisto at Dresden, from the architectural and sacred 
adjuncts amid which they were designed to be 
placed, are by that much diminished in effect, and 
injured as compositions. Xothing but a visit, not 
even a plaster cast well placed, can give an idea of 
Michael Angelo^s statue of Lorenzo de Medici, in 
the chapel at Florence ; it wants its surroundings 
in the grand and gloomy mausoleum, with the light 
playing on it, as its creator designed it to be placed. 
Museums and picture-galleries are too often weari- 
some collections of disjecta membra, contradicting, 
and clashing with each other ; and the moderns 
have not scrupled to destroy, in forming them, much 
that the ancients would have reverenced, and willingly 
have gone a long pilgrimage to see. 



330 



UP THE NILE. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

THEBES TO EDFOU. 

Let us now imagine our sails set, our rowers in 
their places, the gun fired as a parting salute to the 
useful and friendly Mustapha Aga, our worthy consul , 
and that we for a time bid adieu to Thebes, and re- 
sume our course up the river. In looking back on 
the Theban plain, as you leave it, you are more 
impressed by its beauties. Luxor, for a foreground, 
to the right, the vast colossi and Medinet-Abou to 
the left, backed by the noble and picturesque hills, 
is certainly a striking scene. 

The river takes a sudden bend, and you lose the 
view in a few minutes, and are again hemmed in by 
mud banks and monotonous lines of date palms. 
The first place demanding attention is Erment, the 
Hermonthis of the Greeks ; and here are the remains 
of a temple, which, like that of Dendera, was 
founded by the famous Cleopatra, having also the 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 



331 



smaller temple, or - c lying-in chamber " of the 
goddess RetOj as described in our notes on that 
place. This ruin is about six miles from Medinet- 
Abou ; and some travellers who make Thebes a long 
halting or final resting-place, ride to it over the 
plain. It is some distance from the river, but is 
picturesque in its situation. David Roberts has an 
excellent view of it in his great work on Egypt and 
the Holy Land. Frith's photographs of Erment 
exhibit this temple, with a heap of rubbish in the 
foreground of the scene, consisting solely of chips 
from blocks, which have been very recently abstracted 
from the ancient building, to be broken up and 
dressed for modern use. The large temple has long 
since disappeared, and the smaller one is much 
ruined. The columns of the exterior court have, 
with one exception, disappeared; those of the hall 
beyond are but few in number ; the ancient shrines, 
still farther, consist of two small chambers, 
their massive walls of stone serving to support the 
residence of the sheikh of the village, the entire ruin 
being encumbered by the mud huts of the villagers 
and a plain mosque. The modern village is an 
insufferable accumulation of dust and filth, and 
naked, clamorous children. Some sheikhs' tombs 
are in close contiguity, and not far from them are the 
ruins of a Christian church, of early foundation and 



332 UP THE NILE. 

considerable size. Wilkinson gives its measurement 
as a hundred and ninety feet in length, by eighty-five 
in width, and considers it as a work of the time of 
the Lower Empire. The walls are massive and the 
columns large, proving it to have been the careful 
vrork of time : so that Christianity must have been 
firmly and quietly established here. The destruction 
of the church followed that of the religious commu- 
nities on the Nile, when the Turks became masters. 

Cleopatra and her son are again represented upon 
the walls of this temple, but not so well displayed as 
at Dendera. In one instance she is seen worshiping 
the sacred bull. All the sculptures are inferior to 
those on earlier buildings ; and the eye, accustomed 
to the exquisite works of Karnac,Luxor ; and Medinet- 
Abou, will at once detect the vast difference in the 
feeling and execution of these monuments, and the 
later Ptolemaic and Eoman art. The distinction 
may be made by calling the latter art, merely : 
whilst the former deserves to be only spoken of as 
fine art. Between the building of Karnac and 
Erment fourteen hundred years had elapsed ; art, 
though protected by the most rigid rule of composi- 
tion, and therefore in the most narrowed spirit of 
religious conservatism, had failed to preserve that 
delicacy of beauty which it possessed in the days of 
Eameses II. Many persons cannot allow beauty 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 



333 



to verv early art, as seen in tlie monuments of 
Egypt and Assyria. Like all other beauties,, it mnst 
be studied to be felt,, or eyen discovered ; but it is 
certainly more easily discovered in the land for 
which it was designed. An apt, though coarse, illus- 
tration of this fact is indicated in a simile I may be 
pardoned for quoting : — "A lady's eye is a beautiful 
thing ; but take the most beautiful from its socket, 
and hand it for inspection on the purest crystal dish, 
would it delight or even gratify the most enthu- 
siastic ? " "Works of art are often in this position. 
It is ill tampering with the continuity of design in 
any great building by the abstraction of any of its 
parts ; and these parts, though consisting of statues 
or bas-reliefs, will not fail to suffer also by the dis- 
severance. I have endeavoured to enforce this 
opinion at the conclusion of the last chapter. War- 
burton,, in his ^Crescent and Cross/' confirms it when 
speaking of the obelisks of Egypt : — u Those who 
have only seen them at Rome or Paris, can form 
no conception of their effect, where all around is in 
keeping with them. The eye follows upward the 
finely tapering shaft, till suddenly it seems not to 
terminate but to melt away and lose itself in the 
dazzling sunshine of its native skies/' 

" Crocodilopis/' says "Wilkinson, " is the next town 
mentioned by Strabo, on the western bank after 



834 UP THE NILS. 

HermontMs. Its site is uncertain ; but it may have 
been at the Gebel-Ain, where the vestiges of an 
ancient town appear on the hill nearest the river, 
and where I observed some grottoes, whose paintings 
have long since been destroyed/ ' 




CJebel-Ain is a striking object, rising from the 
plain like one of the Mediterranean islands. It is 
unique in Nile scenery, a ad reminds the traveller of 
that of the Rhine. Moselle, or Danube. The strati- 
fication of the rock near this place is singular, and 
those seen on the opposite banks are of wild and 
picturesque form. On passing them a large island 
of sand soon appears : it is a favourite resting-place 
for crocodiles, who occasionally bask in groups upon 
its surface. Ivins: as if dead in the hot sun. Thev 
are almost invariably attended by the little bird, which 
ancient (and some modem authors assert to be its 
guardian while sleeping, and the friendly disturber of 



THEBES TO EDFOTJ. 



335 



its slumbers when danger is near. It is the Charadrius 
melanocephalus of Linnaeus, termed Ziczac by modern 
Egyptians, a name, as before observed, imitated from 
the note it utters when alarmed. Herodotus and Pliny, 
as well as the natural historians of the middle ages — 
who delighted in wonders, and much preferred them 
to simple facts — gave it as a truth that this little bird 
lived upon the leeches which adhered to the throat 
of the crocodile, and added to the feast by picking 
its teeth ; in grateful return for these favours it 
watched the monster's rest, and apprised him of 
danger in good time for escape. The story has a 
better foundation than many others told of birds 
and beasts, with all the confidence of truth, before 
the more critical and scientific observation of modern 
students had dispelled these myths. It would be 
difficult now to write seriously about " that rare 
bird, the phoenix," or to believe that the ostrich 
dined off, and fattened on, horseshoes and hobnails ; 
yet the fact is avowed by the naturalists of the 
middle ages, and the bird may be seen thus feeding 
in a drawing in Queen Mary's Psalter, now among 
the Eoyal Manuscripts in our British Museum 
(2 B vii.) : but, waiving all ancient authors, let us 
listen to a modern, who tells his tale well. It is the 
Hon. Mr, Curzon, whose book has been already 
quoted, p. 124, and in which he thus records his 



336 



UP THE NILE. 



experience of the crocodile and its winged guardian. 
He had got within ten feet of a crocodile asleep on a 
bank. " I was on the point of firing at his eye, when 
I observed that he was attended by a bird called a 
zic-zac. It is of the plover species, of a greyish 
colour, and as large as a small pigeon. The bird 
was walking up and down close to the crocodile's 
nose. I suppose I moved, for suddenly it saw me, 
and instead of flying away, as any respectable bird 
would have done, he jumped about a foot from the 
ground, screamed ''Zic-zac! zic-zac!' with all the 
powers of his voice, and dashed himself against the 
crocodile's face two or three times. The great 
beast started up, and immediately spying his danger, 
made a jump up into the air, and dashing into the 
water with a splash which covered me with mud, he 
dived into the river and disappeared. The zic-zac, to 
my increased admiration, proud apparently of having 
saved his friend, remained walking up and down, 
uttering his cry, as I thought, with an exulting 
voice, and standing every now and then on the tops 
of his toes in a conceited manner, which made me 
justly angry with his impertinence. After having 
waited in vain for some time, to see whether the 
crocodile would come out again, I got up from the 
bank where I was lying, threw a clod of earth at 
the zic-zac, and came back to the boat, feeling some 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 



337 



consolation for the loss of my game in having wit- 
nessed a circumstance the truth of which has been 
disputed by several "writers on natural history. ^ 

I might give my own experience as a corrobora- 
tion of this pleasant dreaming in natural history, 
for certainly I have seen these birds busied about 
sleeping crocodiles, and clamouring at any boat's 
approach in a sufficiently loud manner to waken 
them, and teach them that their only safety is in 
flight. On the bank just alluded to I saw seven at 
one time, of various sizes, one at least fourteen feet 
long, others varying from six to twelve feet, all lying 
like great black slugs, but all awoke by the cries of 
the birds, as they jumped up and down on the sands 
near them ; then waddling or rolling into the water, 
long before a shot could touch them. The real solu- 
tion of the story seems to be very simple. The 
bird is attracted to the crocodile by the flies and 
insects which settle about the sleeping monster ; and 
its own alarm at the approach of man, induces the 
cries which are imagined to be entirely for the benefit 
of its supposed friend. 

There is little to command attention on the 
river until we reach Esne, where there are noble 
remains of the temple once sacred to the ram- 
headed deity, Kneph. This structure would well 
repay the trouble of excavation ; at present the 

Q 



338 



UP THE NILE. 



portico only has been cleared; that was done by 
command of the late Mohamed Air, when he 
visited Esne in 1842,, the palace here being his 
favourite residence when he wished to escape from 
the cares of Cairo. It is situated in beautiful 
gardens close to the river, and is the first object seen 
by the voyager on approaching Esne. The ancient 
temple stands, unfortunately, in the midst of the 
town, and the ground has risen all around nearly 
as high as the capitals of its columns. You conse- 
quently descend to this cleared portico as into a 
vault ; the rest is buried entirely, and the houses 
of the town are built over it. 

The temple of Esne is the only place in Egypt where 
the traveller is free to think alone, untroubled by 
crowds of idle starers, and undisturbed by the everlast- 
ing request for backsheesh. You reach it by a sort of 
alley, and the entry is closed by gates ; a key is kept 
by a regular custodian, who, of course, has his fee, 
and attends to you, but takes good care to lock out 
the dirty drove of beggars who follow. As the 
stair is approached by which you descend to the hall, 
you see only the frieze above it, and are on a level 
with the capitals of the columns. The vast hall 
is very solemn and imposing ; the pillars that sup- 
port its roof are covered with sculpture, the capitals 
very varied and beautiful. Indeed, this grand apart- 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 339 

ment is unequalled among the later Egyptian works: 
it is one of the latest, for the names of the em- 
perors Tiberius, Germanicus, and Vespasian, occur in 
the dedicatory inscription over the entrance ; and 
those of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus, in the 
interior. The doors leading from it are now blocked 
up, and this is all that can be seen of the temple ; it 
is probable that the buried portion may be much 
older, and that this, like the portico of Dendera, 
mav have been a later addition. Like that, it con- 
tains upon its ceiling a zodiac, and Wilkinson says 
that on either side of the front row of columns are 
several lines of hieroglyphics, " which are interesting 
from their containing the names of the Egyptian 
months." It has frequently been used as a granary, 
sometimes as a powder magazine ; and we may, per- 
haps, attribute the carefulness with which it is 
guarded, to the fact of its being a convenient 
government store-house. 

Emerging from the dim hall to the broad glare 
of an Egyptian sun, a turn to the left takes the 
visitor to the great square, where a most busy and 
picturesque scene meets the eye. It abounds in open 
shops and coffee-houses ; barbers' establishments, 
gaily furnished with looking-glasses, and generally 
filled with customers ; and stalls with fruit and 
vegetables on the ground in the centre. A mosque 

q 2 



340 



UP THE NILE. 



on one side, a bazaar on the other, compose a varied 
picture, enlivened by crowds of active people in much 
variety of costume, which is most generally of very 
brilliant tints. It is a capital study of life in Upper 
Egypt. The bazaar offers but few attractive articles, 
the dealers merely sell such ordinary things as a 
poor population requires ; but a stroll through it is 
not without interest to one who desires to see what 
the wants and luxuries of the husbandmen of Egypt 
are. A bazaar and a market will not only furnish 
amusement, but instruction, to any traveller in any 
country who wishes to learn the habits of the people ; 
and nowhere else can he learn them so quickly. 

Passing through the bazaar, narrow dusty lanes, 
winding between the dull mud walls of houses, 
conduct to the open ground between the Pasha's 
palace and the town, — a pleasant breathing place, 
completely sheltered by palm trees, open to the 
river, and commanding fine views of the stony hills 
on the opposite side of the Nile. In front of the 
town are the remains of a stone quay of the Roman 
era, now much ruined by the effect of the annual 
inundations, which have dislodged and washed away 
many of the stones. Mr. Bankes is said to have 
discovered a Greek inscription upon it, recording the 
time of its erection. I examined it very carefully, 
but could find nothing of the sort remaining. The 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 



341 




stones had evidently been obtained from older 
Egyptian buildings, as upon several of them hiero- 
glyphics and portions of figures of deities occurred. 
Some of the blocks measure four feet in length, by 
two and a-half in width, and are two feet thick ; 
they are neatly squared, and fitted without mortar. 
Upon the platform one course of the stones of a 
superstructure remained, 
and the base of a pilaster 
was attached to it, which 
I here engrave (ex pede 
Herculem), as it is so evi- 
dently Roman work ; and 
the inundation of the pre- 
sent year may have carried 

away this last vestige of its architectural character. 

The town lies high, but the river encroaches upon 
it yearly. The bank is a soft soil, which easily 
becomes soaked by the river ; the crude brick wails 
of the houses are as easily cracked, lacking due 
support; and all of them on the water side have 
been broken away by the fall of the banks when the 
Nile rises, and you can see into the rooms ; while 
here and there the masses of wall which once closed 
them in, lie in confused heaps on the side of the hill, 
or in the stream. The town is consequently most 
unpicturesque, when seen from the river, and the 



342 



UP THE NILE. 



large line of shattered houses give it a most melan- 
choly aspect. At a distance town and hill look 
together like one heap of nrnd. 

The general landing-quay is at the other or 
southern side of the town, and is usually gay and 
lively, Trith native boats of all sorts and sizes, lading 
and unlading the produce of the country, or the 
luxuries brought from Cairo. Coffee-shops are, of 
course, established near; and the neighbouring houses 
are the homes of dancing-girls, who speedily make 
their appearance when a new boat arrives. They 
have learnt English enough, in one word, to ply 
their trade; and tinkle their castanets, shake their 
hips, and exclaim, " Dance ? dance ? " in the hopes 
of being hired to exhibit their performances. The 
splendour of their costume, and the profusion of gold 
ornaments they wear, contrast strangely with the 
dirty hovels they inhabit. 

The late Mohamed Ali, in a fit of virtuous enthu- 
siasm, as some say, banished these girls, in 1834, 
from Cairo to this distant town - but as he often 
came to his favourite residence here, others say, that 
he fixed upon this spot for his own gratification ; 
conceding to the complaints which had been made 
of their outrageous impudence (and which must have 
been great to call for remark), in the true Oriental 
mode, not by repression, but transportation, taking 



THEBES TO EDFOT. 



343 



care, however, that they were convenient to him 
when he chose to select the best for his fantasias, 
as the Egyptians style such dancing parties. But 
another, and probably the truest explanation of all 
is, that the Moollahs, or chief priests, objected to the 
monopoly of these ladies' services by Europeans, who 
came to Cairo in large numbers, and generally 
made a point of hiring them to dance. It was not 
the impropriety of the dance, or dancers, that was 
objected to, but that " infidel 93 wealth should secure 
their attractions. So they were sent to Esne, with a 
small government stipend, as compensation for the 
^ vested interests'" of which they were deprived. 
Esne consequently abounds with them ; but they 
are gradually creeping north, and even at Cairo may 
be obtained, sab rosa } to dance at private houses. 

TThile we were at Esne we had an opportunity of 
seeing a fantasia of this kind, executed by the best of 
the sisterhood. The deck of a dahabeah was closed 
in by sails, making a convenient saloon, and lighted 
by hanging lanthorns ; and a small party from 
various European boats made up, to occupy one 
end, the crew, captain, and dragoman being seated 
round the canvas walls. Eour musicians grouped 
themselves on the ground, and played on the rabab 
(a peculiar violin with two coarse strings, and a very 
small apparatus for sound, so that the amount of 



344 



[TP THE NILE. 



hard scraping requisite to bring out a tune is very 
considerable), the nay (a reed flute), the darahooka 
drum (beaten with the fingers), and tambourine. 
The tunes played possessed that monotony so weari- 
some to a northern and so delightful to a southern 
ear. These performers are generally connected by 
marriage with the dancing girls, their position being 
by no means a degraded though not a respected 
one. There is, indeed, an odd sort of toleration felt 
towards them by the better classes, so that they are 
engaged at weddings and feasts ; and their presence 
known, and their dances witnessed, by ladies, at 
times, behind latticed windows. Among the middle 
classes there is less restraint, and ordinary persons 
display no derogatory behaviour whatever; nor is 
the position of the husband lowered — so contemptu- 
ously treated as it would be by ourselves — though he 
is, in reality, in the position of servitor to his wife. I 
have already alluded to the richness of the dress 
worn by these girls, the pink and yellow silks, gold 
threads, and embroidery, which make up their toilette, 
and the large amount of gold ornaments they wear. 
Here the ladies were more than usually resplendent. 
One of them wore five necklaces of different 
lengths, so that as they fell from her neck, her 
breast was entirely covered with them. They were 
so arranged that the golden beads were enlarged 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 345 

as they succeeded each other, while to the lowermost 
hung large pendent ornaments, formed like the 
bean pod ; and which Lane says are called, from their 
peculiar form, sha'eer, which signifies, barley. Nose- 
rings and ear-rings of large proportion also decorated 
them ; and their hair was covered at top by the small 




red cap, or ckoors, a plate of thin gold, below which 
it is allowed to hang in a series of small plaits, to 
which gold coins or small circular ornaments are 
attached. I have endeavoured to give an idea of this 
costume in the above sketch. The waist is girdled 
by a rich shawl. The feet are bare, when dancing. 

q 3 



346 UP THE NILE. 

The style of their dancing was precisely similar to 
that already described at Keneh fair. It no doubt 
preserves very ancient features; and as the song- 
tunes of the Nile boatmen probably give us the 
music originally composed and sung many hundred 
years ago, the movements of these girls may display 
the graces that delighted the men ruled by the 
Pharaohs. Certain it is, that similar dances are 
depicted on the vralis of the most ancient Egyptian 
buildings; and one young girl of the group who 
danced before us, was in feature, form, and colour, 
so exactly resembling them, that she seemed to 
belong altogether to a past age. 

A small brass cymbal, that tinkles like a little bell, 

is used by all these dancing 
girls to mark the time and 
movement of the dance. Each 
dancer has two pair of them 
fastened by a loop of cord 
over the thumb and second 
finger of each hand. They 
have already been described, in p. 238 ; but an en- 
graving is always so good an elucidation of anything 
of the kind, that we place one here to complete our 
narrative. 

Between the dances, the girls sat on the floor and 
smoked pipes, while one of the party sang in a 




THEBES TO EDFOU. 



347 



peculiarly high-pitched voice. They were attended, 
as usual, by an old woman, who plied them with 
strong, coarse, native spirit, which they tossed off*, 
glass after glass, in a manner that could only be 
rivalled by a London cabman. 

These girls are a peculiar race, not acknowledged 
by the Egyptians as of their lineage ; "the Ghawazee 
are Gipsies/' was the explanation I got in English 
from our Egyptian dragoman. Of course he used 
the latter term to convey an equivalent sense of the 
wandering hordes from which they are descended. 
Lane says — " It is remarkable that the gipsies in 
Egypt often pretend to be descended from a branch 
of the same family to whom the Ghawazee refer their 
origin; but their claim is still less to be regarded 
than that of the latter, because they do not unani- 
mously agree on this point. The ordinary language 
of the Ghawazee is the same as that of the rest of 
the Egyptians ; but they sometimes make use of a 
number of words peculiar to themselves, in order to 
render their speech unintelligible to strangers/' In 
this they resemble the gipsy tribe generally. Bayle 
St. John remarks : — " It seems impossible to obtain 
a distinct idea of the origin and history of the so- 
called tribe of Ghawazee. Of course the nature of 
their occupation precludes the possibility of any 
unity of blood ; but there are certainly traces of a 



348 UP THE VILE. 

distinct type, which reappears here and there in 
remarkable purity. Pornis and faces cannot surpass 
in beauty those of the complete Ghawazee : and, 
wonderful to say. in spite of the life of debauchery 
these women lead, they keep far better than their 
more virtuous sisters;" retaining beauty longer. 
Lane says. es Many of them are extremely hand- 
some r v and one named Kutchek Amem was long- 
celebrated for a matchless pensive beauty to which an 
American traveller has devoted many warm pages of 
description. They all wander as occasion prompts, 
visiting fairs and festivals, where their tents always 
occupy the most conspicuous position. They even 
accompany religious bands, and. Bayle St. John 
savs. • • as nii°\ht have been guessed, manv of them 
yearly perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, and come 
back with the respectable title of Hadji, and a purse 
well filled by the contributions of saints absent from 
their families.'* This title of Hadji, or ce Pilgrim," 
is ostentatiously paraded by persons of the lowest 
class, as a prefix to the proper name, when they wish 
to be on the politest terms, addressing each other as 
••Hadji Mustapha/' or whatever the name may be of 
the person they would thus compliment. 

In taking leave of a subject so peculiar as this 
dancing, it is neither the wish nor the intention of 
the author to say one word in its defence : but. 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 



349 



inasmuch as one of our most popular writers has 
declared his conviction that "the much maligned 
Orient is not half maligned enough/ J we may be 
permitted to ask if vre are so sure of our own " glass 
houses" that vre can thus " throw stones " at our 
neighbours ? Will not a Parisian masked ball fur- 
nish us with dancing about which the less that is 
said the better ? and are our own ballet girls all 
vestals ? If we look with Western eyes on Eastern 
manners, we may expect some return glances not 
given too approvingly. I met with many instances 
of " shocks ;; good Mnssulmen had received from 
European manners ; and I remember doing my 
countrymen unwonted mischief during a conversa- 
tion I had with a grave inhabitant of Cairo on this 
subject of dancing. He had heard a report of a ball 
given by one of the consuls at Alexandria, where 
ladies danced with gentlemen indiscriminately ; he 
apologised for mentioning it, and added, "he believed 
the report was a lie, invented by the wicked Jews.' ; 
He was greatly amazed when I assured him it was 
no unusual thing to do in the best European society: 
and I could see he was not well pleased at having a 
story confirmed which he refused to believe, and had 
often contradicted. He had evidently "thought 
better of us," and was mortified at our unworthi- 
ness. This is only one example among many of 



350 



UP THE NILE. 



Oriental criticisms, which we should find as severe 
upon us as our own are upon them, when induced by 
different national custom and feeling. 

Let us leave these syrens, ancient and modern, 
and pursue our placid course on the broad and beau- 
tiful stream. It deserves that name from Esne up- 
ward ; nor is its placidity interfered with by much 
traffic. The boats are few indeed that we now meet, 
compared with those between Cairo and Thebes. 
The whole land has also a more primitive and 
pastoral look. The ruins, when we reach them, 
seem more solitary, the villages more isolated. As 
the stream winds, the scenery is varied and pleasing; 
the rocks are of more fantastic form than before. 
Over the lowlands whirlwinds of sand will frequently 
be seen, which might give the idea of the presence 
of a large factory chimney in a distant town, hidden 
by the verdure nearer the river bank. There is 
nothing, however, to demand particular attention 
until El Kab is reached, about twenty miles distant 
from Esne. It is on the eastern bank, and still ex- 
hibits many ruined monuments of its former glory. 
Its inscriptions and paintings have been of much 
value to the historian and the antiquary ; but the 
ordinary visitor may not find much remaining to 
gratify him for stopping there. Many a relic of 
absorbing interest and value to the student, has less 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 351 

attraction to ordinary eyes than a more showy sculp- 
ture if well preserved. This place has suffered greatly 
from the usual fate of the Nile antiquities. It has 
been wantonly destroyed, pulled to pieces for building 
stones, or its stones burnt for lime. Sic transit 
gloria mundi, on the banks of the Nile. 

El Kab is the Eiliethvias, or city of Lucina, of 
the ancients. It is among the rocks at the back of the 
modern town, that we must search for the most 
interesting records now remaining of its past history. 
Some small chapels, and still more remarkable tombs, 
are cut in them. These tombs, like others already 
described at Beni-Hassan, present invaluable pictures 
of the ancient Egyptian manners, and though not 
equal to the latter in point of execution, in some 
instances give representations not to be met with 
elsewhere. This is particularly the case with the 
delineations of boats, which are depicted with a 
minute and curious truthfulness. 

A short ten miles brings us to Edfou, and there 
is nothing to demand a stay till we reach the quay. 
The vast gate-towers of the Great Temple have been 
before our eyes long ere we arrive there, and the 
high walls of the building tell of its size and import- 
ance as they shoot above the miserable town at their 
base. Nothing can be more striking than the 
grandeur and vastness of this noble building. It 



352 



UP THE NILE. 



stands on elevated ground about two miles from the 
river : but it is nearly five by the road the visitor 
has to go, winding as it does among cultivated fields, 
along raised causeways, and up and down canal 
banks, filled with fertilising streams when the Nile 
rises. The town is an unusually large collection of 
deplorable mud huts, the lanes between them ankle- 
deep with light sand, and infested by troublesome 
dogs and disagreeable people. Indeed Edfou may 
bear the palm for bold beggary, which is nowhere 
rifer than on the banks of the Nile. 

It is pleasant to turn to a more cheering theme — 
the protection of the monuments by the Egyptian 
government, and the exhumation of one of the finest. 
The Pasha does not now permit foreigners to do as 
they please in damaging buildings or carrying off 
fragments ; and he has been steadily employed in 
clearing others from the rubbish which for a^es has 
concealed them. This has deen done with eminent 
success at Edfou. The representations of this fine 
temple by Roberts, Bartlett, and other artists, are 
now to be referred to as curious pictures of what it 
used to be, when buried nearly to the roof by the 
sands which had drifted over it for centuries. 
"Wilkinson savs, " The whole of the interior is so 
much concealed by the houses of the inhabitants 
that a very small part of it is accessible, through a 



PI. XVI. 




THEBES TO EDFOU. 353 



narrow aperture, and can only be examined with the 
assistance of a light ; and this is more to be 
regretted as the people are most troublesome." 
Bartlett says, " The interior is almost filled up with 
rubbish, and, imperfectly seen, as it needs must be, 
hardly repays the trouble of groping through heaps 
of dust and filth." Xow, all this has been removed, 
and the result is the display of one of the most 
perfect and beautiful temples in Egypt. It has been 
entirely freed, from interior to roof, of all obstruc- 
tions, and the Arab huts that once covered its roof 
removed. The effect is magical, and the building 
only seems to want its priests and sacred utensils to 
realise its ancient glories as in Egypt's palmy days. 
The grand gate-towers, with gigantic figures of gods, 
admit the visitor to an open court, surrounded by a 
pillared cloister from which small side chapels are 
entered. Crossing the court, a vast hall, supported 
by varied and massive columns, covered with hiero- 
glyphics, and richly painted in tints still fresh, forms 
a noble place of assembly, from whence the smaller 
chapels — the most sacred of all — are entered. Look- 
ing back from this hall upon the open court, the 
view is obtained which forms Plate XVI. By con- 
trasting this with David Roberts's charming picture 
from the same point of view, the extent and value of 
the labour recently bestowed on this temple may be 



354 UP THE NILE. 

well comprehended. The colours on the columns 
are still fresh and beautiful : the Trails covered with 
elaborate sculpture in relief. The eve and mind are 
bewildered with the profusion and beauty of detail 
that here courts attention. 

In the central chapel beyond this hall, the original 




sanctuary, or shrine, of the god still exists : it is 
formed from one immense block of red granite, with 
a pyramidal top, and is covered with sculpture in 
relief. It is unique among Egyptian relics, and of 
singular interest. The cut depicts this holy of 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 355 

holies, as seen from the entrance gate. The inclined 
plane leading up to it in place of steps, will be 
observed bv the visitor, as well as the socket in 
which turned the pivot of the massive gate which 
once closed it. AH these sanctuaries or chapels are 
very perfect, and numerous minor " points " of 
interest are here tc be seen in perfection. In that 
to the right of the sanctuary is a curious zodiac, 
with the goddess curled round it. But two years ago 
Edfou was an Arab town. " Their miserable dwell- 
ings are stuck in every accessible place in and about 
the temple/' says Roberts, " and over the sanctuary 
is a populous village, where the bleating of kids, the 
crowing of cocks, and the cries of children, are 
utterly out of character with their strange localitv." 
The whole temple is now relieved of all this, and so 
wondrously perfect, that it is not too much to say 
that it is more complete in its pristine integrity 
than any of our cathedrals. This good work has 
only been effected during the last year; the clearance 
of the exterior is even now going on; and a most 
curious sight it is for the stranger, to look down 
into the pit of sand and dust in front of the temple, 
and see the crowd of diggers and labourers removing 
it — all gesticulating and screaming, elbowing each 
other, or fighting their way up with their baskets of 
dirt, amid camels and donkeys also employed in 



356 



UP TEE NILE. 



carriage, and all half concealed in an atmosphere 
thick with choking dust or fine sand. 

The exterior Trails of the temple have been now 
trenched round to their base. Thev are entirely 
covered with figures of colossal proportions, like the 
temple at Denderai An idea of the vast labour 
requisite to clear this building may be formed, froni 
the enormous mounds of sand and dust heaped beside 
it, and seen through the central door in our plate. 
The view from these artificial hills is worth obtaining, 
giving, as it does, a coup (Fceil of the entire temple, 
the village, the plain, the winding river, and the 
noble chain of the Arabian mountains in the distance. 

Edfou is the Apollinopolis Magna of antiquity. 
The temple vras founded by Ptolemy Philometer 
(180-115 B.C.), and continued by other kings of the 
line, the last named being Alexander (106-81 B.C.). 
The name of Tiberius Claudius Caesar occurs on the 
western tower; so that here, as elsewhere in 
Egypt, we find the Roman rulers propitiating the 
people of Egypt by completing, repairing, or up- 
holding the national faith. 

In advance of the Great Temple are the remains 
of a smaller, similar to those noted before, in 
which the goddess Isis is seen nursing the infant 
Horns. It consists of two small chambers, and has 
been wantonly injured by the abstraction of stones, 



THEBErf TO EDFOU. 



357 



found afterwards not to be wanted, and now scatter ed 
in confusion around. 

Edfou has always had admirers. Roberts, on his 
return to it, after inspecting all that Egypt could 
show, declares — u It has not lost by the temples 
that I haye seen, but, on the contrary , gained, in 
the impression it giyes me of its extent and 
regularity, its massive proportions, and the beauty 
of its sculpture • and surpasses all aboye it, for its 
colossal size and the excellent presentation it is in, 
excepting where it has been wantonly injured." 

The great drawback to the pleasure of the visitor 
here is the persevering annoyance of begging. The 
whole village turns out upon the traveller; some- 
times the demand becomes so pressing, and assumes 
so much the character of a threat, that it is alarming 
to many. But fortunately the government protects 
the European traveller, and punishes so severely 
the slightest outrage committed on him, that these 
mendicants dare not attempt what they seem eager 
to effect — personal robbery; while their fear of consti- 
tuted authority is so great that if the traveller shows 
determination, and clears a way for himself by the 
aid of a good stick, he may get that freedom from 
annoyance nothing else will ensure him; for even 
the gift of money will only bring forth fresh and 
eager applicants, the filth of whose persons, and the 



35S 



UP THE NILE. 



vermin which swarm in their never-changed rags, 
making them most disgusting. 

It may sound unpleasant and unjust to many who 
have only European experience, this^ reference to the 
argumentum bacidinum ; but the traveller will soon 
find himself forced into the national habit, of using 
or threatening to adopt it, the fact being that the 
natives are so inured to the custom, that thev treat 
with contempt anv order that may not be accom- 
panied by a real or assumed power. They reverence 
only that which is stronger than themselves ; and, so 
far from resenting, they respect the person who gives 
them unmistakable proof of his power, and have but 
a contempt for the ruler whose law is the law of 
kindness. Hence the people who suffer by it, use 
the native proverb, " the stick was sent from heaven/' 
— feeling that all order depends upon its judicious 
use. The traveller who is not willing to enforce his 
rights, and retain his power of rule over his boat's 
crew, by a rigid discipline, will soon find that he 
can do nothing with his men, who will behave just as 
they please — stay where they like, as long as they 
like, under some futile pretence; pass by places 
where he would wish to stop ; and insubordination and 
contempt will be the ultimate result. Let it not be 
understood that quarrelling and beating are essentials 
to Nile travelling ; kindness is well appreciated, and 



THEBES TO EDFOU. 



359 



we never found an instance in which it failed : but it 
must never degenerate into weakness ; the feeling 
must be retained of power being with the master. 

It would be well if Edfou were protected by gates 
and a custodian, as is the temple at Esne, that the 
traveller might walk thoughtfully through its vast 
halls, undisturbed by eager beggars. The nuisance 
they are at present, renders the memory of the visit 
here more pleasant than the reality. It would be 
well, too, if this noble temple could be spared 
further injury from travellers — that sculptures be not 
chipped, or names cut and scrawled upon its walls. 
It has been wondrously preserved, and laboriously 
exhumed for the gratification and instruction of the 
nineteenth century : let our boasted asre of intellect 
at least preserve its consistency, by protecting from 
wanton injury this vast and wondrous work of the 
old world. 



360 



UP THE KILE. 



CHAPTER X. 

EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 

After leaving Eclfou the river assumes a placidity 
and loneliness which characterise it as far as Assouan. 
On the eastern shore the inhabitants are thinly 
scattered^ and are members of the Arab tribe of 
Ababdeh; -which occupies the country between the 
Nile and the Red Sea,, and whose chief occupation 
is that of breeding camels for the market at Esne, 
whence they are distributed over the whole of Egypt, 
being by far the most important beast of burden the 
country possesses. There is a remarkable fitness in 
the camel for the place and the people ; nowhere but 
in a slow-going country could so slow-going a crea- 
ture be endured. Its pace is confirmed and imper- 
turbable. Its real hatred of labour is equal to that 
of the people themselves^ and its dogged and un- 
yielding refusal to carry more than it chooses,, gives 
it a complete mastery over man. It is certainly as 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 361 

■unmanageable,, uninteresting, and ugly a beast as 
man has to do with — never does any tiling willingly, 
screaming and groaning in impotent spite at every 
attempt to load it, and moving with the mere 
resignation of conquered obstinacy when it begins 
its unwilling journey. 

There is nothing to call for especial remark on the 




river until the picturesque ruins of the old Arab 
city of Booayb are seen on the eastern bank. The 
sketch was taken to the south of the town, as it is 
seen in coming down the river from Assouan. It is 
now entirely deserted, left to slow decay, and ten- 
anted only by wild creatures. It is constructed on 
the sloping side of the hill, and has been entirely 
encircled by a curtain wall, connected with round 



362 UP THE NILE. 

towers at intervals, and with a citadel on the summit 
of the roek. It is probably of mediaeval date, when 
only such a system of fortification could be of use 
or value. It greatly resembles many of the smaller 
fortified towns of the middle ages on the Moselle, 
Maine, and Danube ; having a remarkable similarity 
in aspect and construction to Durrenstein, on the 
last-named river, celebrated as the place of captivity 
of our Richard Coeur-de-Lion, after his hurried 
return from the crusades. It is quite possible that 
the system of fortification which we term Edwardian, 
and which has for its principal features this enciente 
of wall and tower, may have had its origin in the 
experiences of the warriors of the cross, during their 
career in the East, when bow and arrow, and catapult, 
were powerless to do very serious harm to these well- 
walled cities crowded with a half-savage soldiery. 

The scenery about Booayb, and ten miles further 
to Silsilis, is picturesque; the river is broad and 
beautiful, and there is a richness and brightness in 
the vegetation of the banks telling of a nearer 
approach to a tropical clime. As we approach 
Silsilis, we notice the convergence towards the river 
of the rocky chain that bounds Egypt on both sides, 
and at Silsilis shuts in the stream, narrowing it con- 
siderably between its strong walls. Gebel Silsilis, 
which literally signifies the mountain of the chain, 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 363 

received its name from an old Arab fable,, narrating 
the actions of an ancient sovereign of Egypt, who is 
reported to have stretched a chain across the Kile to 
impede all southern voyagers, except such as he 
chose to allow passage ; and thus levy a toll, or 
hinder an invasion. A singular isolated rock, upon 
whose summit a wedge-shaped mass reposes, is 
pointed out as the pillar to which this chain was 
secured. It is shown in Plate XVIII., and is on the 
western bank of the stream. 

The old Egyptian town, inhabited by the quarry- 
men, whose labours here gave stone for the chief 
buildings of the country in the olden time, and 
which we have examined in our course up the 
stream, was at the base of the mountain on the 
eastern side of the river ; but the vestiges of its 
existence are few and uninteresting. The quarries 
themselves on both sides of the stream abound in 
interest, and no one can visit them without being 
strongly impressed with the vastness and grandeur 
of the labours in ancient Egypt. These quarries 
exhibit very clearly the mode adopted by the masons 
for obtaining these huge blocks ; they were cut from 
the top of the hills downward to the depth of each 
stone required, and then dissevered from the lower 
mass by horizontal cutting, aided by wedges of wood 
saturated with water, their expansive properties induc- 

r 2 



364 



rP THE NILE. 



ing fracture. By this means a series of blocks was 
obtained^ until the base of the quarry was reached, 
and a straight wall of rock bounded it on all sides ; 
this again could be cut into another series of blocks , 
as far into the mountain as its proper stratification 
would allow. The stone here seems almost inex- 
haustible, and the vastness of the labour which has 
been ages ago bestowed in cutting away such great 
quantities, only reveals the still greater mass re- 
maining. Immense walls of sandstone rise on all 
sides, and branch off into pass-ages and great open 
areas, wonderful for their size and continuity. 

Miss Martineau graphically describes this spot : — 
^The quarries of Silsilis have a curious aspect from 
the river — half-way between rocks and buildings ; 
for the stones were quarried out so regularly as to 
leave buttresses which resemble pillars or colossal 
statues. Here, where men once swarmed, working 
that machinery whose secret is lost, and movina" 
those masses cf stone which modern men can only 
gaze at, — in this once busy place, there is now only 
the hyena and its prey. In the bright daylight, 
when the wild beast is hidden in its lair, all is still." 
So little effect have time and neglect in this favoured 
climate, that the tool marks of the workmen, made 
nearly three thousand years ago, are as fresh as the 
work of the present day, and seem as if the labourer 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



865 



had suspended his business to resume it imme- 
diately. Wafburton has placed this in its most 
familiar aspect when he says — " Hollowed out of the 
solid rock there are squares as large as that of 
St. James's, streets as large as Pall Mall, and lanes 
and alleys without number ; in short, you have here 
all the negative features of a- town, if I may so 
speak ; i.e., if a town be considered as a cameo, these 
quarries are a vast intaglio." 

The chief interest of this locality is now con- 
fined to the western bank, where the rock-cut temples 




demand an investigation they will well repay. The 
most northerly, and therefore the first that will be 
seen by the visitor in ascending the river, is cut into 
a low cliff in advance of the main rock, at some 
slight elevation. The general aspect of this spot is 
seen in the accompanying sketch. The chamber is 



366 



UP THE NILE. 



somewhat rudely and solidly fashioned, as if the 
facade was supported by four massive piers, upon 
which rested a heavy cornice. Open doorways be- 
tween these piers lead to the interior, which takes 
the form of a long narrow gallery, with an arched 
roof. The walls between the piers are sculptured 
with figures of the gods ; and in the thickness of the 
entrance on the northern door is a still smaller shrine 
cut, in which are seated sacred figures, now too much 
battered to be readily recognised : their forms and 
features have been wantonly mutilated by the Chris- 
tian iconoclasts who have at some time converted this 
chamber into a chapel, and painted inscriptions of a 
sacred character on its walls. Judging from their 
injured remains, these figures of the gods do not 
appear to be older than the Ptolemaic and Roman 
eras. This entry and the northern end of the temple 
are depicted in our Plate XVII. Opposite the spec- 
tator is a range of standing figures of gods, and 
upon the side walls are many tablets and inscriptions 
of an historic character. In one instance we see 
the king defeating his enemies ; in another, he is 
depicted as a conqueror, carried in procession to 
return thanks to the gods, accompanied by his 
soldiers and their captives. These sculptures are 
very ancient, the king being the Horus who reigned 
from 1337 to 1325 b.c. ; they are generally delicately 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



367 



executed, with all that abundance of detail, and 
scrupulosity of manipulation, which gives them, as 
pictures of ancient times, a value equal to photo- 
graphs. 

The rock is deeply excavated between this and the 
other temples, and walls of sandstone hem in the 
visitor. The loneliness is perfect. Eagles make the 
crannies their home, and sweep across the river as 
the footfalls of a stranger approach ; the ground is 
rugged, and tangled vrith wild plants, — the most 
formidable being a species of thorn, whose spines 
are so large and strong, that they pierced the upper 
leather of my shoe, and penetrated the foot. This 
rugged road descends from the quarry to the river, 
close beside the isolated mass to which the old 
legend has affixed the guardian- chain of the stream. 
Plate XVIII. is a sketch of this rock, and the smaller 
temples beyond ; which are more beautiful in design, 
and of more striking aspect when seen from the 
river, than that already described. They are deco- 
rated with columns resembling bundles of water- 
plants, like those of the tomb at Beni-Hassan, en- 
graved in Plate TIL, and are surmounted by a cornice 
upon which a row of asps is represented. Within 
are sculptured and painted representations of the 
kings and queens of Egypt offering to their gods ; 
among them may be seen the god of the Kile, dis- 



368 UP THE NILE. 

tinguished by his emblems, the water-plants ; as well 
as the peculiar deity of the district, the god Savak, 
who has the head of a crocodile, and to whom that 
creature was sacred. 

There are many smaller chapels or shrines, some 
of them converted into tombs, and an abundance of 
inscriptions cut on the face of the rock, as well 
as upon the large boulders that line the sides of the 
stream. Altogether Silsilis presents more curious 
peculiarities than any other place on the Nile. In 
some of the caves Greek inscriptions, accompanied 
by the cross, testify the re-consecration of the 
temples to the faith we ourselves hold. The remains 
of Silsilis have been less injured than others on 
the river, as there is no village, and the whole 
district is utterly lonely and deserted : as a general 
idea of the quarries may be obtained from the boat, 
and the principal shrines plainly seen, as they are 
close to the water, very few travellers stop here. 
It will, however, well repay a few hours' delay ; and 
the visitor will not fail to remark the freshness and 
beauty of the coloured decoration of many of these 
little chapels. Some of the ceilings are of elaborate 
design, the compartments of colour separated by 
flowing bands, the prototype of the Greek scroll, 
which, like other architectural details, had their 
origin in Egypt long before the age of Pericles. 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



369 



Nothing can prove the dryness of the Egyptian 
climate better than the state of these little temples ; 
the wall-paintings, though merely a water-colour, 
and hanging over the river, are still bright and per- 
fect, after more than two thousand years of exposure 
to the air; time has written no " defeatures" on 
their surface — it is man alone who has injured them. 
Fortunately there is some inconvenience in getting 
up to them, and visitors have been very sparing 
of their names, which have generally been modestly 
placed in small pencil characters where they do little 
or no mischief. 




To the geologist this portion of the river presents 
many features of interest ; the entire line of river 
margin gives capital sections of the strata composing 

r 3 



370 TP THE XILE. 

the rocks : at some distance above the temples, Where 
the cliffs open out. and the river widens, the irregu- 
larity of the stratification is very curiously visible, 
as will be seen from the foregoing engraving. 
Great changes have occurred in this part of the 
river, which at one time was confined by rocks, 
and pent up in a narrow and dangerous channel. 
The barrier in the course of a^es has been broken 
down, and the river freed in its northward way, 
transferring the first great cataract or rapid to the 
rocks beyond Assouan ; though there and elsewhere 
in its course its career is neither so rapid nor so 
dangerous as it appears to have been in the time of 
the Roman writers, whose descriptions are too for- 
midable to characterise in any truthful degree the 
present aspect of the scenes they profess to detail. 

Beyond this point the rocks recede, and the 
country opens out on both sides, with an arid desert 
on the western bank, and stony debris on the eastern 
side. At some distance onward sand hills approach 
more closely to the water ; and it is curious to note 
the gradual encroachments of vegetable life, in 
patches of coarse reedy grass, dotting the sides 
of these sand hills, and sometimes giving- a refreshing 
aggregate of green to the glaring vellow, which is 
the predominating tint upon which the eye wanders. 
A few thorny bushes generally succeed to this grass ; 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



3 71 



then a slight deposit of mould is formed ; ultimately 
the husbandman takes his advantage of the humble 
beginnings preparing to avail himself of the annual 
deposit of Nile mud, by trenching the ground ; and 
here and there we see a small garden rising amid 
the desert around. 

From the end of the mountain range of Silsilis 
to the temple of Kom-Ombos is about thirteen miles; 
there is nothing to call for especial remark until we 
reach the latter place, unless it be the abundance of 

crocodiles that infest the stream here, and mav be 

< «/ 

seen basking in great family groups, of all ages and 
sizes, on the sunnv islands of sand in the centre of 
the river. 

The temple of Kom-Ombos is very grandly situated 
on the summit of a hill, commanding a magnificent 
view of the river as it winds far below toward Silsilis. 
The stream is very rapid here, and strikes with great 
violence on this eastern bank, undermining the soil, 
and making it dangerous for boats to attempt a stop- 
page, except above the temple. One of the great 
towers of the gateway has already been undermined 
and thrown down by this constant action of the 
stream on its sandy foundation ; and the other must 
soon follow. On the land side the sand from the 
Arabian desert is fast burying the building, so that at 
no very distant period the same fate will overtake 



372 



UP THE XILE. 



this grand temple on the hill, that has befallen the 
smaller one on the banks below — now sunk in the 
stream, but only a few years since existing in all the 
beauty of coloured sculpture, and well-preserved 
freshness. 

The great temple is much ruined, and its basement 
buried in sand, but the painting on much of it is still 
very vivid, though exposed to the air. It is this that 
makes one of the wonders of Egyptian remains ; 
they appear so fresh and new, although so ancient, 
that a northern man, used to the decay which a few 
years ensures to any exposed work of art, cannot 
realise the fact of long ages passing over them in 
this favoured climate, and leaving scarcely a trace of 
their progress. 

The dryness of the Egyptian climate is again 
proved here, for the crude brick walls and buildings 
about this temple, though of the time of Auletes 
(b.c. 65), are still perfect; yet these bricks may be 
easily crumbled in the finger; they are but imper- 
fectly sun-dried, and Lave much chopped straw in 
them. They are laid in alternate courses horizontal 
and parallel. Under the portico are some figures of 
the gods, which have not been properly finished ; 
they are sculptured in low-relief, over outline 
sketches made upon graduated squares, in a perfectly 
conventional manner. The director of the works 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



373 



has altered his idea of their position, and the 
sketches have been afterwards made the contrary 
way^ so that they cross each other, and have a very 
confusing effect, as the original erroneous sketch has 
been allowed to remain. They are interesting as 
showing the mode in which these artists worked, and 
how completely they were fettered by rule and 
measure, never being permitted latitude of invention 
in sacred representation. 

Savak, the crocodile-headed deity, shared with 
Areoris, the hawk-headed deity, the worship of the 
devotees who came to this temple in the olden days 
of idolatry. It had, therefore, a double sanctuary, 
and is duplex in all its arrangements. The ruin 
which now remains is but a small portion of the 
original building, embracing the larger part of the 
portico, which is remarkable for the beauty and 
variety of its columns. The capitals are designed 
from the conventional types of the vegetable king- 
dom, which the architects of ancient Egypt so well 
knew how to adapt with the best effect; and we 
have here the lotus, the papyrus, and the palm in 
succession, producing a very varied and beautiful 
series of columns. 

Kom-Ombos was the scene of the savage religious 
feud between the worshippers and the haters of the 
crocodile, which Juvenal relates in his " Satires/' as 



374 



UP THE NILE. 



if from his own experience, when an unwilling resident 
in the land to which he had been banished, or where 
he thought it prudent to retire after his severe denun- 
ciations of the corruptions at Rome. For the credit 
of human nature it might be wished they were less 
true in their charges than they appear on all good 
evidence to be ; and in the same spirit we might hope 
his picture of intolerant enmity in Egypt was over- 
charged, if we had not more modern and equally 
lamentable experience of its ferocity. Juvenal never 
conceals his dislike of the Egyptians, and he thus 
narrates this incident at Kom-Ombos (as translated 
by Gifford) :— 

"Now the Ombite festival drew near ; 
When the prime Tent'rites, envious of their cheer, 
Resolv'd to seize the occasion, to annoy 
Their feast, and spoil the sacred week of joy. 
It came : the hour the thoughtless Ombites greet, 
And crowd the porches, crowd the public street. 
With tables richly spread ; where, night and day, 
Plung'd in the abyss of gluttony they lay : 
(For savage as the country is, it vies, 
In luxury, if I may trust my eyes, 
With dissolute Canopus) . Six were past, 
Six days of riot, and the seventh and last 
Rose on the feast. And now the Tent'rites thought 
A cheap, a bloodless victory, might be bought, 
O'er such a helpless crew ; nor thought they wrong : 
For, could the event be doubtful ? where a throng 
Of drunken revellers, stammering, reeling-ripe, 
And capering to a sooty minstrel's pipe, 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



375 



Coarse unguents, chaplets, flowers, on this side fight, 
On that keen hatred and deliberate spite ! 

At first both sides, though eager to engage, 
"With taunts and jeers, the heralds of their rage, 
Blow up their mutual fury ; and anon, 
Kindled to madness, with loud shouts rush on ; 
Deal, though unarm'd, their vengeance blindly round, 
And, with clench' d fists, print many a ghastly wound. 
Then might you see, amid the desperate fray, 
Features disfigured, noses torn away, 
Hands, where the gore of mangled eyes yet reeks, 
And jaw bones starting through the cloven cheeks !" 

Juvenal continues with a disgusting picture of 
the increased rage of the combatants, who sacrifice 
one of the flying Ombites, tear him limb from limb, 
and absolutely gnaw the flesh, thus revenging 

" a deadly hate, 
Sprung from a sacred grudge of ancient date." 

Giffbrd, in the notes to his translation, points out 
a most singular notion, expressed by Bruce, the 
traveller, as to the use of the fabulous chain of 
Silsilis, already alluded to : — " As the chain is in 
the Harmonthic nome, as well as the capital of the 
Ombi, I suppose it to be the barrier of this last state, 
to hinder those of Dendera from coming up to eat 
them ! " 

The thirty miles from Kom-Ombos to Assouan are 
picturesque and agreeable. Thick groves of trees 
line the banks, above which wave forests of luxuriant 



376 



UP THE NILE. 



palms, brought out in strong relief from the sand 
hills behind, golden- hued in the bright sunshine. 
Patches of lentils and other herbs slope towards the 
river, like a carpet of emerald green. On the 
eastern bank, dark masses of granite afford a more 
sombre background to the scene; it occasionally 
mixes with the sandstone on the western side also. 
The whole aspect of the country is more tropical 
than it has hitherto been on our journey. After 
passing Esne, the influence of Nubian manners is 
more or less visible. At Edfou the female chil- 
dren and young women adopt the Nubian attire, 



^ dark brown or blue gown, 

wearing nothing beneath it. 
Women here frequently adopt a gown that is almost 
identical in arrangement with the Greek chiton. It 




if attire it may be called, 
which consists simply of 
ornamental appendages, and 
an apron formed of leathern 
thongs, and decorated with 
a few shells and beads of 
red earth, and rough silver. 
This single article of dress is 
all that is worn before mar- 
riage by young girls ; after 
which they adopt the loose 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



377 



consists of a capacious piece of strong woollen stuff, 
reaching from feet to shoulders, where it is turned 
over and falls to the waist ; the sides are stretched 
together, and the top edge fastened on each shoulder. 
It is without sleeves, is not girdled at the waist, and 
may be said to be without form, inasmuch as it is 
a simple piece of linen hanging loosely from the 
shoulders ; but it has a grandeur of its own as the 
thick folds fall heavily about the wearer, and are 
brought out in great distinctness by the brilliant 
light and shade of the climate. A long veil of the 
same stuff is cast over the head, and hangs behind 
the wearer. The face is very seldom hidden here, 
and the hair is often cut and arranged in a series of 
small spirals, exactly as seen in the ancient paint- 
ings of the tombs. The fashions are the same, with 
very little modifications, as were in vogue with the 
same class in the reign of the Ptolemies. Tattooing 
is very common ; the face being marked by a small 
ornament in the centre of the forehead, just above 
the nose, and also on the chin, of which we have 
engraved a specimen on p. 212. The eyes are sur- 
rounded by the black stain of henna, which certainly 
has its value in giving them additional lustre by its 
contrast; the lips are almost as constantly dyed 
blue, which has a decidedly unpleasant look. The 
fondness of these women and children for hair-oil, 



378 



UP THE NILE. 



obtained from the castor-oil plant, is a still more 
repulsive fashion ; they soak their heads with it until 
the hair drips, and it lies in pools about their fore- 
heads ; its rancid smell is unbearable to a stranger, 
and would always induce him to keep some distance 
from a Nubian Venus. 

In their noses is invariably placed a ring, generally 

of copper, sometimes of 
gold ; to which are ap- 
pended small metal orna- 
ments or red earthen beads. 
Two specimens of these 
rings are here given ; it will be noted that they are 
never hung, as most Europeans imagine, from the 
centre cartilage of the nose, but always through the 
right nostril. Miss Martineau, who should be, as 
a lady, a more competent authority than myself on 
the subject of becoming female costume, and its 
accessories, is inclined to look more favourably on 
this fashion (remembering the taste of the European 
ladies for heavy earrings) than most others have 
done ; and argues, not without reason, that if the 
flesh of the fair sex be ever rudely punctured to 
hang therefrom any extraneous ornament, there is 
really little difference between the ear and the nose, 
except as custom reconciles the practice. 

The earrings worn by the ordinary classes are 





EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



379 



large and peculiar ; they are very cheap — about the 
rate of fourpence per pair. They are made of plates 
of gilt copper, struck up in a die, with a few orna- 
mental protubrances, and having a row of smaller 
pendants attached to the lower part. This love for 




pendants is universal, and indulged whenever there 
is a chance of doing it. Our engraving depicts 
the two varieties most commonly worn. Of these 
the pyramidal is the chief favourite, and is almost 
universally adopted, being seen from Cairo to 
Assouan. Rude as these things are, the boldness 
of their design gives them an exceedingly good effect, 
the dark skins of the wearers acting as an excellent 
foil, and the general poverty of their attire lending 
a sort of idea of value even to articles of such rough 
workmanship as these. Between the earrings is 
placed a finger ring of the value of one half-penny ; 
it is cast in pewter, the central jewel being a bit of 
glass, coloured beneath with a tint of yellow, upon 



380 



UP THE NILE. 



which some red spots are daubed. The necklaces are 
generally earthen beads, sometimes glass, of various 
tints; the bracelets and anklets simple bands of 
copper ; the girls having attached to their anklets a 
row of small bells, which ring as they run ; small 
pebbles and fragments of stone are placed in them to 
give the due sound. 

Boys are seldom clothed at all : when they are. 
their wardrobe consists of a shirt with wide sleeves, 
worn until it falls in tatters from their shoulders. 
As it is often seen in ragged inutility, hanging in 
strips upon them, the good of wearing it at all is not 
very apparent. Their hair is generally cut close, 
except one tuft on the summit of the head — a custom 
retained by grown men. The mothers usually make 
three slight incisions on the skin of the face, close to 
the outer edge of each eye; it is believed to strengthen 
them and prevent ophthalmia. The men tattoo 
their hands and wrists very constantly, and the cut 




here given is a specimen of the prevailing styles 
adopted. The feet of the girls are sometimes 
similarly tattooed. Finger-nails tinged with the 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



381 



rosy tints of henna are common ; the palms of 
the hands are also occasionally covered with the 
same hue. Sometimes the first joint of the finger is 
dyed black, with a composition similar to the kohl 
used for the eyes. The effect of this dyeing, tattoo- 
ing, and bluing the lips is by no means pleasing to 
Europeans, but it seems to possess an irresistible 
charm to the Egyptians of the lower classes, who 
indulge in this cheap decoration to a large extent. 

The men here may often be seen carrying a stick, 
still more common in Nubia, which 
is so identical with the staff univer- 
sally seen in the hands of the 
ancient gods of the land, in all the 
sculptures and paintings, that the 
resemblance cannot be merely acci- 
dental. It is cut from the bush so 
that a small portion of the root 
is allowed to remain with it, re- 
sembling the feathered head of the 
jackal upon the sacred staves, which 
are believed to be indicative of the 
eternal stability of the gods. For convenience of 
reference, one of these staves is here engraved 
beside the Nubian stick. The latter, it will be 
observed, is strengthened by a binding of brass wire, 
at intervals about an inch asunder. 




382 



UP THE NILE. 



The curve of the river which allows the first view 
of Assouan is particularly picturesque. To the 
right the rock is crowned by a Sheikh's tomb, below 
which is a ruined fortress on a smaller hill ; other 
ruins are near, and give diversity to the scene, the 
vegetation being perfectly tropical. Rounding this 
rock Assouan appears on the rising ground to the 
left ; in advance is a picturesque ruin stretching 
into the water, with a series of arches, sometimes 
called Roman, but more probably the remains of 
mediaeval baths. Above the town, granite rocks 
tower up crowned with ruins, the view being bounded 
by the Isle of Elephantine to the right, with its 
green palm groves, and ruined walls, once the sub- 
structure of temples on the quay. The most fan- 
tastic forms are taken by the rocks and boulders of 
dark granite, which start out of the river on all 
sides, and appear to form a gate of rock in front of 
the harbour. The ancient writers have noted the 
singular effect produced by these fantastic and con- 
fused masses of stone, which give a peculiar cha- 
racter to the scenery of "far Syene/' the boundary 
of ancient Egypt, and the city of Juvenal's banish- 
ment. 

Plate XIX. represents that part of the town oppo- 
site which boats are usually moored. The rocks 
crossing the stream have hieroglyphic inscriptions 



EDFOr TO ASSOUAN. 



883 



cut upon them, and others are seen in those above 
the water and in the midst of the gardens of the 
town. The arches alluded to above are just beyond 
these. The houses of the town are much hidden 
by trees. When our boat was placed here, there was 
stationed immediately in front of us the native 
dahabeah, depicted in the sketchy and on board of it a 
negro who was conveying a young Xubian lion from 
Don^ola to Cairo ; it was about the size of a Xew- 
foundland dog, and very much attached to its keeper, 
rubbing about his head and body like a cat, and 
allowing him to carry it in his arms, and make 
it play all kinds of antics as he held it by a 
rope. During the day it was fastened to the sloping 
bank, in the sun, and gave a very tropical aspect to 
the scene. The large group of trading boats near 
this told also of inner Africa and the far south ; for 
the sailors were busy with the merchantmen in un- 
loading the camels, who had brought spices, gums, 
senna, and elephant's teeth, from Dongola, Sennaar, 
and the interior of the country. The smell of the herbs 
pervaded the air, and it was a picturesque sight to 
witness the groups so busily engaged; and still more 
so at night, when the camel-drivers constructed for 
themselves a circular shelter of the bales they had 
brought, round which they ranged their guns and 
extra clothing, lighting a cane fire in the midst to 



384 



UP THE NILE. 



cook their suppers of grain, after which they rolled 
themselves in their clothes and laid down for the 
night by the fire, the camels being picketed outside. 

Juvenal, in his eleventh Satire, notes the trade of 
this place in ivory, and the use made of it in the 
manufacture of sumptuous furniture for the Roman 
palaces : — 

" Wrought from those valued tusks Syene lends, 
Which the swart Moor, or swarthier Indian, sends, 
From Nabath's forest, where the unwieldly beast, 
Drops his huge burden, of its weight released." 

As soon as a fresh boat arrives, the natives come 
down to it, offering all kinds of articles for sale 
— ostrich eggs, bunches of their feathers, spears, 
shields, and daggers used by Bedouins, Nubians, and 
other tribes, bows and arrows, bracelets of bone and 
silver, the leather aprons worn by the women, baskets 
of coloured reed, and " odds and ends " of all kinds. 
The bazaar of the town is a wretchedly-supplied 
lane of dusty shops, with only the commonest and 
cheapest articles on sale ; the great preponderance of 
cowrie-shell ornament shows that the negro taste is 
consulted ; and some very : hideous specimens of 
these tribes may be seen acting as common sailors 
in the boats. 

Opposite is the Isle of Elephantine, once, and that 
not long since, abounding with relics of the temples 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



385 



which graced it in the olden days ; now all is a mass 
of ruin, not worth the trouble of a visit. Wilkinson 
says, " The whole was destroyed in 1822,, by Mo- 
hamed Bey, the Pasha's kehia, to build a pitiful 
palace at Assouan;" but he notes the existence, at the 
time he wrote, of relics that have since disappeared. 

A wall of solid masonry bounds the island opposite 
the beach of Assouan ; a flight of stairs leading from 
the water upward to the temple, once formed a 
Nilometer the most ancient extant. On the walls 
of this passage are lines cut, accompanied by a series 
of Roman inscriptions, recording various remarkable 
inundations in ancient times. When the Nile 
rises, the whole of this beach and the rocks in the 
stream are submerged. The vast heaps of broken 
pottery are among the most remarkable relics on 
the island at present. Many of these fragments are 
coated with a vitreous glaze, similar to that so fre- 
quently seen upon the porcelain idols, found in such 
abundance in mummy pits and funeral chambers. It 
is of a very deep blue, sometimes with a green tinge, 
and may easily be cracked off the clay in thick semi- 
transparent flakes. Others are painted with an early 
Greek ornament, in lines of red and yellow colour. 
The taste for this primitive decoration remains 
in Egypt. The cut on next page exhibits one 
of the ordinary dishes used by the poorer classes; 

s 



386 



UP THE NILE. 



it is formed of coarse clay, in character and quality 
like our red roof tiles, the ornament painted in black 
lines. Above it I hare placed a few specimens of 
the older fragments just alluded to. It is a curious 
fact, and one deserving of record, that in all these 
vast heaps of ancient fragments to be met with in 
the ruined cities of the Xile, I never saw one piece 
of the red Roman lustrous ware, that is sometimes 




termed " Samian pottery/* and which abounds in all 
European cities of Roman foundation, as if the entire 
of their northern and western possessions had been 
supplied from the same manufactories. This may 
tend to strengthen the opinion expressed by one 
of our best Roman antiquaries, Mr. Roach Smith, 
that it is most probably the production of Gaulish 
and Rhenish potters, who monopolised the trade, 
which must have been lucrative and extensive. 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



387 



Among the potsherds here, niany are found with 
writing upon them, in enchorial and Greek charac- 
ters, of which I obtained some specimens, and many 
others are to be seen in the British Museum. The 
inscriptions are usually notes of barter, as if a 
piece of tile had been picked up, as we take a piece 
of waste paper for scribbling upon, and cast away 
when done with. This custom illustrates the passage 
in Ezekiel iv. 1 : — " Take thee a tile, and pourtray 
upon it the city, even Jerusalem." 

The people who inhabit this island are all Nubians, 
and more clamorous than usual for backsheesh, which, 
as they have nothing to show for it, is little deserved. 
They keep as guards to their wretched mud hovels 
a tribe of abominable dogs, more savage than any I 
had met with before, their masters hardly being able 
to control them. I was followed by a little group 
of children, all quite naked, but some few adorned 
with beads, and nose and ear rings ; the young 
women " full-dressed ;; in the apron of thongs already 
described. Thev all watched our movements with 

m 

much interest — pretty much as they might those of 
any strange beasts; they were, however, without 
one exception, most struck with our watch chains 
and pendent ornaments, which formed the most 
absorbing and interesting part of the exhibition our 
presence made for their diversion. 

s 2 



388 



UP THE NILE. 



Belzoni has preserved a curious Arab traditionary 
tale about this island : — cc There is in this spot, say 
the Arabs, great treasure, left by an ancient king of 
the country, previous to his departure for the upper 
part of the Nile, on a war against the Ethiopians. 
He was so avaricious that he did not leave his family 
anything to live upon ; and he was in close friendship 
with a magician, whom he appointed to guard his 
treasure till his return. But no sooner was he gone 
than his relations attempted to take possession of the 
treasure; the magician resisted, was killed in the 
defence of his charge, and changed to an enormous 
serpent, which devoured all his assailants. The king 
is not yet returned, but the serpent keeps watch over 
the treasure ; and once every night, at a particular 
position of the stars, he comes out of the cave with 
a powerful light on his head, which blinds all who 
attempt to look at it. He is of enormous size ; 
descends to the Xile, where he drinks ; and then 
returns to his cave, to watch the treasure till the 
king returns. ^ 

Assouan literally signifies u the opening, a name 
derived from its station at the river-gate of Egypt. 
Here anciently the Kile burst through the rocks in a 
tempestuous career, as described by "RomaD authors, 
but now it flows peacefully within the narrow channel. 
Like the more famed Scylla and Charybdis, it has 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



389 



lost its formidable character ; the water has, doubt- 
less^ washed down many ancient obstructions, and 
freed the course of the stream. Cicero speaks of the 
river as throwing itself headlong from the loftiest 
mountains, so that the people living near were de- 
prived of the sense of hearing by its noise. Seneca 
corroborates the statement ; and the water-marks 
on the Nubian rocks prove that the river anciently 
was at a different level. The Nile is, even now, con- 
stantly changing its aspect and course, as Ave have 
already noted at Girgeh and elsewhere. 

From the hill above Assouan, where the ruins of 
a Coptic convent are visible (and which gives the 
scene a very Rhenish aspect), the curve of the river 
as far as the first cataract may be seen. The water 
is crowded with boulders of rock, from Assouan to 
Philse ; and the cataract is in reality a rapid, pro- 
duced by the confinement of the stream in a very 
narrow channel, which in its tortuous course might 
dash the boats that navigate it against these granite 
rocks, if they were not piloted by the natives, who 
know all of them, and how they maybe best avoided. 
Arrangements are generally made at Assouan for 
securing this assistance. The terms vary much, 
according to the size and character of the boat, or 
the presumed wealth of the traveller. It is always 
exorbitant, and seldom fixed on a first interview ; the 



390 



UP THE NILE. 



reis of the cataract states the terms on which he will 
secure the proper services of a number of men ; and 
that price, as well as the number of assistants, is 
altogether in excess of what is fair or necessary. 
But this is the Egyptian mode of doing business 
throughout the country in everything. Two-thirds 
or one-half of the original estimate maybe ultimately 
agreed upon ; but the large number of men is not 
diminished, inasmuch as they live by this labour, 
have no other, and share what they can, under the 
control of their chief. They are altogether a very 
independent race, and show a certain amount of 
contempt even for the native government, when it 
attempts a coercion submitted to elsewhere. As 
their knowledge is essential and peculiar, the govern- 
ment is less stringent in its attempts at taxation 
with them, and a sort of amicable arrangement 
exists between both parties. The prices charged 
for getting a boat through the cataract varies from 
£20 to £40 English, according to its size ; it is paid 
to the reis or captain of the cataract, who has the 
entire distribution of it to his men. When the 
river is high, the native boats go through by their 
own steersman. In general, the difficulty of the 
passage is much exaggerated, in order that the 
natives may obtain money and employ. 

The rocks around Assouan are inscribed with the 



EDFOU TO ASSOUAN. 



391 



names of many Egyptian kings, during whose reigns 
the quarries were worked which supplied the blocks 
for the statues and temples of the land. Upon the 
boulder opposite Assouan, which helps to support 
the boundary wall of Elephantine, is the name of 
Psammitichus II. (b.c. 594), in very large and 
deeply-cut hieroglyphics. In the quarry, at the 
opposite side, beneath the ruined convent already 
alluded to, is the name of Amunoph III. (b.c 1403), 
with sculptured representations of that king sacri- 
ficing to the gods ; and below is a small recess 
containing a headless figure of a deity. Hieroglyphic 
inscriptions and figures of men and gods abound on 
all sides — the work of the ancients who came here 
for stone, and thus recorded the reign of the king 
for whom they laboured : or propitiated the gods by 
the formation of these small chapels dedicated to 
their worship. In one of the quarries is a sarco- 
phagus, which has been cut but never removed ; and 
in another an obelisk, ninety-five feet in height, which 
has never been entirely detached from the rock which 
forms it. Ptemains of the trenches cut by the 
workmen, in dissevering the masses of stone, and the 
holes for the wooden wedges to assist in the same 
work, are visible everywhere. As at Silsilis, there 
are abundant memorials of the busy scene these stone 
quarries must have once presented. Now all is 



392 



UP THE NILE. 



silent and deserted ; yet so little trace, here again, 
lias time left of his long course, the visitor almost 
feels as if the work had been abandoned but for 
a short while, and that the men of the past might 
return to resume their labour in a locality so un- 
changed by the passage of more than two thousand 
years. 

In the golden twilight, when the last rosy tints of 
the set sun glow upon the fleecy clouds, and the 
landscape is partially hidden ; when the black 
fantastic rocks, crowned by antique ruins stand out 
in shattered loneliness against the sky, and no sound 
is heard but the rush of waters, an indistinct 
solemnity pervading the entire scene ; then the awful 
words of Ezekiel are felt in all their power and 
truthfulness, as the prophecy he once uttered is to be 
seen fulfilled : — " Thus saith the Lord God : Behold 
I am against thee, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great 
dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which 
hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it 
for myself. — I am against thee, and against thy rivers, 
and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and 
desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the 
border of Ethiopia." 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



393 



CHAPTER XI. 

ASSOUAN TO PHIL.E AND ABOU-SIMBOUL, 

Travellers who make Philse their -ultimate desti- 
nation — and very few go beyond it — leave their boat 
at Assouan, and cross the desert to the sacred island. 
By this means they avoid the trouble and expense 
of passing the cataract or rapid; the long journey 
by the course of the river is saved, and a more direct 
route taken. The distance by this road is seven 
miles, and is done in two hours. Close upon the 
outskirts of Assouan, we come upon a vast necropolis, 
through which the road passes. On both sides the 
ground is thickly covered with ruined tombs, or 
stone pillars, many bearing early Cufic inscriptions 
to the memory of the dead. The graves themselves 
are mere mounds, marked round by rude stones ; 
the whole place having a ruined look of desolation — 
a most woful, arid resting-place, without enclosure, 
tree, shrub, or even blade of grass, and encroached 

s 3 



394 



UP THE NILE. 



on by illimitable sands. A wide tract, covered with 
the imprint of the feet of biped and quadruped, 
marks the way between the rocky hills towards 
Philae. No rain compacts the dusty mass ; and the 
footprints so vividly impressed on the soft sand, 
have been merely crushed out by successive footfalls 
in the long lapse of time. It is impossible, by any 
amount of reading, to form an entire idea of what 
desert travelling is ; the most minute description 
will fail to impress it completely on the mind, inas- 
much as there is a peculiar feeling about it that 
is not to be fully understood except by personal 
experience — a sense of dangerous heat that strikes 
upward from the sand, as well as downward from the 
sun. Nothing can exceed the wildness of the scene, 
and the fantastic appearance of the rocks that bound 
the view, which can nowhere be rivalled, and excited 
the attention of travellers in the classic ages, who 
have recorded their impressions of the wild and 
fantastic scene. The high ridges of rock hide, on 
the right, all view of the Nile ; vast boulders, piled 
in most extraordinary confusion, shut out the desert 
on the left, but occasional glimpses are obtained of 
the sandy plain stretching far off to the Red Sea. 
Many of these boulders are covered with figures and 
hieroglyphics, sometimes slightly incised, but with 
the chisel-marks as fresh as if they had been executed 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 395 

but yesterday. About two miles beyond Assouan 
we first see fragments of an ancient Trail of sun-dried 
brick, standing on a raised bank of earth, which was 
constructed to protect this famous roadway, and 
preyent incursions from the tribes who inhabited the 
desert. In many parts it is still singularly perfect. 
It is not peculiar to this part of Egypt, but may be 
traced at intervals on the boundary of the cultivated 
land on the eastern bank of the stream, from the 
rocky passes of the Gebel-el-Tayr, near the convent 
of Sittina. History is silent as to its construction ; 
but tradition is rife, and points to it as the work of 
a queen of ancient Egypt, who thus enclosed her 
land from the sea to Assouan, on both sides of the 
river. The natives also term it the old mam's wall or 
dyke, and affirm that it was made by enchantment, 
at the request of a king, to keep serpents from a 
favourite daughter. In some parts of its course, 
where the mountains are steep, it merely closes the 
ravines. It is not without parallel elsewhere. The 
great wall of China immediately comes to mind ; but 
Europe can show works of the Roman era constructed 
after a similar plan, and with a similar intention — 
that of keeping in check the incursions of barbaric 
tribes. In southern Germany, "the Devil's wall/' 
as it is popularly termed, is carried across the 
country a distance of a hundred and sixty miles from 



396 UP THE NILE. 

Wimpfen, on the Neckar, to Neuburg, on the 
Danube, and was begun by the Emperor Hadrian. 
Our own country is not without a remarkable work 
of the same kind, also constructed under the 
auspices of that emperor ; it was intended to protect 
south Britain from the northern tribes, and stretches 
across the land from the mouth of the Tvne to 
Solway Frith. These vast military works may, 
probably, all be referred to one period, that of 
Roman rule. 

Midway to Philae the road branches \ a rocky glen 
to the right leads direct to Mahatta, the village near 
the cataract, where live the men who navigate the 
travellers' barges. A visit here will well repay the 
short detour, for it is a picturesque as well as a wild 
scene. The village and its inhabitants have a more 
prosperous and comfortable look, than we have 
hitherto seen. Their mud hovels are made more 
pleasant by an external divan, shaded by a few trees, 
under which old and young folks may sit embowered. 
There is a healthier moral bearing too among 1 the 
people : a manlier tone, an absence of that squalid 
subservience we sometimes find too common in 
Egypt. The Nubian peasants are generally of a more 
independent bearing than the fellaheen. Their 
active habits, freedom from restraint in dress in 
early life, necessity for continuous healthy labour in 



ASSOUAN TO ABOF-S1MBOUL, 



397 



later years, and a stronger sense of personal comfort 
and cleanliness ensure this. The abominable para- 
sitical insects which infest Egypt, are not here in 
any numbers, indeed it is broadly asserted that fleas 
and bugs will not live in Nubia ; but as it is the 
custom of the people to use castor oil to lubricate 
the skin and soak the hair, the rank fume may be 
the reason why such insects ayoid the people, who 
are sometimes most offensive from this habit. 

The rush of the Xile through its rocky channel 
can be seen to no better advantage than here. The 
river is literally crowded with rocks and boulders of 
all sizes and shapes, as if tossed wildly about in some 
vast natural eruption. The cliffs have broken forms 
of fantastic character, and the hills often assume the 
aspect of heaps of granite and basalt smashed into 
gigantic masses, and piled in strange confusion 
around. The sombre colour that pervades the stone 
adds to the striking effect of a scene possibly unique 
in the world, and the strange mystic figures of the 
gods of the old faith, accompanied by the cabalistic- 
looking hieroglyphic inscriptions cut upon so many 
of them, give a witch-like look to this wild, un- 
earthly district. 

The passage of a boat through the rapids here is a 
sight worth seeing. The real dangers are added to 
by the noise and excitement of all engaged in the 



398 



UP THE NILE. 



labour of getting it safely through. Orientals, in 
general, are stolidly impassive, or wildly enthusiastic. 
Their repose is torpidity, their activity spasmodic. 
They swarm in and about the boat, pushing it from 
the rocks, guiding it as they wade in the stream, 
aiding steersman and captain in every inch of its 
way, leaping in and out of the water in mad activity, 
clambering crags, gesticulating, screaming, exerting 
limbs and lungs to the utmost pitch, until the boat 
passes into quiet water. The larger quantity of all 
this excitement and exertion is thrown away, being 
utterly inutile, but perfectly necessary to Nubian 
nature. In fact the judicious use of a few ropes and 
pulleys affixed to some of the rocks, and a few cool 
hands to use them, would make the Nile as easily 
navigable here as a canal-lock at home. " The 
channels are so narrow," says an American traveller, 
" that it needs only a strong rope and a strong pull 
to ensure the ascent." Belzoni says, " small boats 
and canzias can be drawn up or down at all times 
of the year;" and I was assured by a Maltese 
dragoman that he had come through the cataract in 
a returned dahaheah, unaided by any but. the native 
crew of the boat, who having no strangers with 
them, willingly undertook the task. Belzoni at- 
tempted it on his return from Philse : he says, " As 
we advanced, we expected every moment to arrive at 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



399 



the spot where the great fall is ; but haying passed 
over several rapids, one in particular a little stronger, 
but not more extraordinary than are seen in other 
rivers, we were agreeably surprised to find that in 
less than an hour we were out of all danger. I have 
seen the great cataract on the west side when the 
water is low, and its fall was then, in length, about 
six hundred yards, forming an angle of thirty or 
thirty- -five degrees, divided by the interspersed rocks 
into various branches." It varies, of course, with 
the seasons and the quantity of water in the river ; 
and he elsewhere notes that " one of the principal 
falls at this season (the month of May) is about 
thirty feet in length, forming an angle of fifteen 
degrees/'' The "vested interests" of the men of 
Mahatta, of course, induce them to make the most 
of the real or simulated dangers; and the wild 
excitement they indulge in, combined with some 
real risk, mystifies most travellers, and strengthens 
their extortion. Yet their assistance is essential, 
and must be secured, but not on their terms : a due 
amount of bargaining is necessary as well for the 
present as the future traveller, for every year the 
Nile journey becomes more expensive as the greed 
of the natives is acceded to. 

Returning to the road to Philse, that silent path- 
way in the sand winds around and over huge masses 



400 



UP THE NILE. 



of granite, and then again assumes a level course. To 
the right we soon come again upon the boundary wall, 
here singularly perfect, upon its raised mound, thrown 
up from the dyke outside it. Some distance further 
a ruined tomb is seen upon the left ; it commemo- 
rates the desert-home and last resting-place of some 
sheikh, who, emulating the early Christian ascetics, 
consigned himself to these awful solitudes till death 
released him. It is a desecrated ruin now — its 
arcaded walls open and bare, its domed roof crum- 
bling in the dry heat. It gives greater desolation 
even to the desert. Rocks close in upon us here — a 
narrow defile of black boulders, or sharp, flinty- 
looking peaks, sand drifted and packed about the 
lowest heaps ; but sand, and stone, and heat, are 
all that meet the eye or give the mind a thought, 
until a sudden turn opens out the scene, and a 
withered bush shows how far vegetable life once 
tried an encroachment on the desert. A mile in 
advance, a line of green, bright and deep in tint, is 
seen; beyond, high cliff's of dark basalt bound the 
view : the greenness is on the border of the stream, 
the rocks on the opposite bank. Philse lies in the 
waters below, but not to be detected before the margin 
of the stream is approached, for the plain we ride 
over lies high • and as we dismount and descend the 
hill-side to the ferrv-boat, Philse rises from the 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



401 



waters as beautifully as Venus is fabled to have 
arisen from the sea. 

All travellers, ancient and modern, agree in prais- 
ing the Holy Island. Curzon says, e< Every part of 
Egypt is interesting and carious, but the only place 
to which the epithet of beautiful can be correctly 
applied is the Island of Philse." Belzoni has devoted 
his most rapturous pages to its description. War- 
burton calls it " the most unearthly, strange, wild, 
beautiful spot, I ever beheld. No dreamer of the 
mystical old times, when beauty, knowledge, and 
power were realised on earth, ever pictured to him- 
self a scene of wilder grandeur, or more perfect love- 
liness. All round us tower up vast masses of gloomy 
rocks, piled one upon the other in wildest confusion — 
some of them, as it were, skeletons of pyramids ; 
others requiring only a few strokes of giant labour 
to form colossal statues that might have startled the 
Anakim. Here spreads a deep drift of silvery sand, 
fringed by rich verdure and purple blossoms ; there, 
a grove of palms, intermingled with the flowering 
acacia; and there, through vistas of craggy cliffs 
and plumy foliage, gleams a calm, blue lake, with 
the Sacred Island in the midst, green to the water's 
edge, except where the walls of the old temple city 
are reflected." 

The Island of Philae possesses, through its sacred 



402 



UP THE NILE. 



character, a greater amount of interest than any 
other place in the world, inasmuch as it is the 
locality most anciently consecrated to the service of 
religion. At a period when history only commenced 
its records, Philse was of ancient and holy renown ; 
and no more sacred oath could be uttered by the 
men of Egypt than was conveyed in the words " by 
him who sleeps in Philae." There is still a solemn 
grandeur in these words of the old faith ; and when 
we remember that the sleeper was Osiris, that he 
represented the Creator, that his personal love for 
the country was believed to be yearly evinced in the 
rising of the Nile — an annual miracle according to 
their faith, and one upon which the very existence of 
the country depended ; — when we think of all this, 
we may have a better idea of the character of the 
asseveration, and a due amount of reverence for the 
rocky islet where the worship of man toward his 
Maker has been continuous for thousands of years, 
the retrospection fading away in the darkness of 
pre-historic ages. 

But, ancient and holy as the island is, it does not ex- 
hibit relics of antique buildings equal in age to those we 
meet elsewhere, and have already described. Nothing 
on the island is older than the Ptolemies, except the 
small chapel of Athor, constructed by Nectanebo I. 
(b.c 381-363), and many of the erections and com- 



ASSOUAN TO AB0U-5IMB0UL. 



403 



pletions are marked as the work of the Roman em- 
perors. The Persian invaders, under Ochus, had 
desecrated and destroyed here the Egyptian holy of 
holies. This could be more effectually done than 
was possible elsewhere; the strength of the deter- 
mined violation is visible at Thebes. The repair of 
this mischief employed the rulers, native and foreign, 
who came after them, and appears to have been con- 
tinuous while any power remained to the Roman 
monarchs. 

The island is covered with ruined temples; and 
they in turn were packed with wretched hovels, 
inhabited by a mass of clamorous peasants. They 
have been dislodged, and the foundations and ruined 
walls of their homes only left. The place is, there- 
fore, one of the few where the visitor is allowed 
comparative solitude for thought and examination. 

Opposite the desert road we have travelled is a 
ruined quay, and upon that quay an entrance-gate, 
constructed during the Roman era, presenting all the 
features of the triumphal arches at Rome, and else- 
where; having a grand central and two side gates, 
with arched recesses above. The great hall of the 
temple beyond has been converted by the early 
Christians into a church, as have so many others on 
the Nile. Upon the columns many Greek crosses 
are cut, in a relieved intaglio, over the gods and 



404 



UP THE NILE. 



hieroglyphic inscriptions. Fig. 1 is a curious ex- 
ample, in which the cross seems to be conjoined 




1 2 

with the sacred bread of the Eucharist, and other 
symbols. Kg. 2 exhibits the more ordinary form 




of cross, which occurs repeatedly upon the structure. 
Against the eastern wall is an altar-table of stone, 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



405 



with a simple moulding on its upper edge, and a 
cross, like the examples just given, upon its front. 
It is now torn from its place and thrown down, 
— another desecration of another faith. Above it is 
a recessed arch, of which an engraving is here given, 
which bears traces of very early character, in the de- 
based forms of Greek ornament mixed with Christian 
symbols. 

These walls, and Philse generally, have not been 
spared by mischievous nobodies, anxious to record 
their visit. The furore for inscription, name-paint- 
ing, and carving, has run riot over the whole of the 
ruins here to a rabid extent we see nowhere else. 
Myriads of names crowd the walls, not modestly 
placed where they might not be very objectionable, 
but staringly opposing you in letters many inches 
high, where they destroy the effect of the building. 
This is particularly the case in the beautiful little 
temple known as " Pharaoh's Bed." One misguided 
Scotchman has painted his name and address across 
the portico, in black letters of portentous size ; how 
he managed to get there to do it is the puzzle, and 
the risk to his neck must have been great. Perhaps 
"an accident" in such work might have its wholesome 
use. Another Scotchman, one B. Mure, has deeply 
cut his worthless name in large letters upon one of 
the columns of the great hall, to which some one has 



4:06 UP THE NILE. 

very properly cut a few more, and braced them 
below it ; as a comment — these words are "stultns 
est/ ; and their double meaning has been richly 
earned. The inscriptions recording the visit of the 
investigators sent out by Pope Gregory XYL, and 
those connected with the French expedition, are too 
visible also : the amusing vanity of painting up in 
one place the latitude and longitude of Paris, is 
peculiarly indicative of a nation that esteems its 
capital as the only centre of civilisation in the world. 
A squared panel in the entry of the great pylon, 
records the visit of the French General Desaix, and 
his myrmidons, in 1799, or, as it is here termed, 
fC An. 7 de la Republique/' The person who cut this 
upon the walls, has felt so little the true character of 
his mischievous work, that he ''has damned himself 
to an immortal fame/' by placing his name to the 
labour he ostentatiously parades. The American 
traveller, Stephens, has placed his above all ; to be 
obliterated in turn by an indignant Frenchman, who 
has written over it the painted words, " La page de 
Fhistoire ne doit pas etre salie." Philas was the 
boundary of the French conquests in Egypt ; the 
"Memlooks having been pursued beyond the first 

cataract bv the arniv of Desaix. 

* t/ 

The little hypaethral temple on the eastern side of 
the island, is the most remarkable object upon it; 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 407 

and the most exquisite in its effect of any in Egypt. 
It is, and ever has been, open to the sky ; the lower 
part of the walls being mere screens between columns. 
Its absurd popular name, " Pharaoh's Bed/ J has be- 
come affixed to it by long and general usage. Below 
it is a quay and a flight of stairs, once the principal 
approach to the great temples. These are now in a 
state of confused ruin ; the confusion of irregular 
construction, of additions and adaptation by various 
builders, at various times, is here also as at Karnac. 
But a little thoughtful study will make all clear. The 
sacred chambers where the mystic life and acts of 
Osiris are portrayed, as well as those relating to the 
Nile, and the numerous records of the old religion, 
will well reward investigation. An open colonnade 
faces the southern point of the island, and from the 
walled terrace a lovely view of the river, as it flows 
from the interior of Africa, is obtained. Days may 
dreamily and profitably pass in Philee ; (C idle time 
not idly spent/' where all is so lovely and suggestive. 

The ancient Egyptians felt the picturesque charm 
of Philse as strongly as thev did its sanctitv. A 
curious record exists of the inconvenience and injury 
done to its priestly denizens thereby. It became a 
sort of custom for official dignitaries and persons of 
rank to visit Philae, as the moderns visit fashionable 
watering places — to lodge with the priests, and to live 



408 UP THE NILE. 

as long as they chose, at their expense. This pre- 
tended religious, but really self-indulgent and mean 
practice, became at last so intolerable, that the 
priests petitioned the king, Eyergetes II., for a royal 
ordinance to restrain it, which was granted, and the 
priests at once erected an obelisk, upon which their 
petition and the reply was inscribed. This obelisk 
was brought to England by Mr. Bankes ; I know not 
where it is now • it ought to be at Philse, where it has 
most interest. In the address to the monarch, he, his 
wife, and sister, are styled " great gods ; " and it is 
asserted that they, the priests, ran a risk of not haying 
enough, at last, remaining for the customary sacrifices 
and libations offered for them and their progeny. 
The royal reply stringently forbids this forced hospi- 
tality in future ; which appears to haye been imposed 
on them from public functionaries downwards to the 
soldiers and attendants of their suite. 

From the opposite island of Biggeh, the yiew of 
Philae is obtained engrayed in Plate XX.; that point 
of yiew best displays the walls that once enyeloped 
the island and the group of building within their 
circuit. A cleft in the wall displays the colonnade of 
the great fore-court of the temple; the gate -towers, 
and row of pillars in the great hall are beyond. The 
small temple called Pharaolr's Bed is seen in adyance 
of this, aboye the colonnade, on the other side of 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 409 

the island. There is nothing on this side to clash 
with the pure antique remains. Philae here looks its 
true character, a ruined and deserted fane ! 

We are now 578 miles above Cairo, reckoning by 
the winding of the river ; and here the tour fittingly 
and properly ends. Egypt is left and Nubia entered. 
But, as the wondrous rock-cut temple of Abou-Sim- 
boul attracts a few venturous travellers to visit it, 
who can bear a tedious journey of 273 miles farther, 
it may be well to briefly note what is to be seen on 
the way, as well as to add some slight account of 
what the temple itself is; which undoubtedly de- 
serves to be called a " wonder of the world. " 

The Nile scenery above Philse assumes a wilder 
aspect; granitic rocks abound; the cultivated land 
is small, and requires great labour to render it 
productive. "The cliffs, dark red, assume wilder 
forms, and approach nearer to the river ; the stream 
itself is narrower and more rapid ; the line of vege- 
tation is more limited, but brighter, and the desert 
appears more frequently" (Warburton). "Not only 
are the villages diminutive, — almost too small to be 
called hamlets, — but the sprinkling of people be- 
tween them is so scanty as barely to entitle the 
country to be called inhabited ; but this is clearly 
from the scarcity of cultivable land" (Miss Marti- 
neau). Between Philse and Dabod the strip on each 



410 



UP THE NILE. 



side of the river does not average a width of more 
than a quarter of a mile. 

At Dabod, or Wady Dabode, about ten miles 
above Philae, the traveller may stop his course for 
the examination of another ruin. The temple here 
is of late workmanship, including sculpture of the 
Roman era, and was never properly completed, some 
of the columns being left as they were roughly hewn 
by the quarrymen, a state in which many other 
temples remain. It was originally surrounded by 
a wall, and approached from the river by a stone 
quay, leading to three gates at short distances 
from each other. There is an excellent view of it 
in Roberts's great work on Egypt ; in which may 
also be found equally good representations of other 
Nubian remains seldom visited. Frith' s series of 
photographs also comprise some valuable views. At 
this spot the scenery of the Nile is very picturesque, 
but wild. Roberts has delineated its peculiarities, 
and says of it, (t The mountains break into bold forms, 
the rocks are often precipitous, and islands rise 
abruptly from the river." 

At Wady Kardassv, or Gertassee, are the remains 
of a beautiful little temple, of which Roberts has 
given a charming view. Some of the pillars have 
capitals with the head of Athor, as at Dendera. 
It is much ruined ; and at one period has been con- 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 411 

verted into a Christian church. Greek inscriptions 
and crosses still remain upon its walls. It is built 
in a commanding position on a rock overlooking the 
river, and around it are extensive quarries in the 
sandstone, which have been worked by the ancients ; 
the inscriptions upon them are of the Roman era. 

Tafa, or Taphis, is a little below Kalabshe. Here 
are the remains of two small temples, both about 
thirty feet square within : one is in the centre of 
the village, the other at its southernmost extremity. 
It is entirely without interest, as may be judged by 
Roberts's view. It was once used as a Christian 
church, and is covered with rude and half-obliterated 
paintings of saints, and scenes in sacred history. 
When Wansleb visited this country, in 1673, most 
of these churches were entire, but closed for want of 
pastors. Since then they have gradually gone to 
decay. When Belzoni visited Taphis in 1817, it was 
used as a stable for cattle. The plain is strewn with 
the debris of buildings, chiefly of the Roman era. 

A picturesque fortress, now in ruin, is seen upon 
a small island between Tafa and Kalabshe, and gives 
an additional wildness to scenery almost as fantastic 
and savage as that we contemplated near the first 
cataract. The river runs here with considerable 
rapidity, and it is sometimes not easy to land at 
Tafa or in its neighbourhood. 



412 



UP THE NILE, 



Kalabshe, a commanding-looking town on the 
right bank of the river, possesses one of the largest 
temples in Nubia ; but it is of late work and debased 
art. Its position is striking : ct Its noble elevation, 
the two magnificent terraces by which the entrance 
is approached, the grand range of mountains by 
which the scene is backed, the rich groves of palm 
and acacias in front, and even the mud houses of 
the population here, add to the striking grandeur of 
the temple, and the picturesque character of the 
whole scene." Such is the description given by 
Brockeden, in " Roberts's Egypt," where may be 
seen one of the latter artist's finest delineations of 
Nile scenery and relics. The temple itself has been 
properly characterised, by Miss Martineau, as ""a 
heap of magnificent ruin ; magnificent for vastness 
and richness, not for taste. The existing building 
was begun in the reign of Augustus, carried on by 
some of his successors, and never finished. As it 
was the largest temple in Nubia, the Christians 
naturally laid hands on it ; and a saint and several 
halos look out very strangely from among the less 
barbarous heathen pictures on the walls." Among 
the numerous inscriptions remaining here is one that 
may be termed " amusing," by its style of inflated 
bombast. It is given entire by "Wilkinson, and 
records the doings of a certain Silco, " King of the 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



413 



Nubadse, and of all the Ethiopians/' who flourished 
in the time of the late Roman emperors ; and was, 
as he informs us, " a lion to the lower districts, and 
to the upper a citadel." His great doings in his 
small district are pompously descanted upon ; and 
he assures all who read this veracious record, " I 
was not at all behind the other kings, but even 
before them/'' The inscription is altogether a 
valuable illustration of the antiquity of C( blowing 
one's own trumpet ! " 

About a quarter of a mile distant from this great 
ruin is a very small, but much more interesting, 
temple, cut in the face of the rock. It is known as 
Bayt-el-Welee, or the House of the Saint, having 
been converted into a home for a hermit of the 
Mahommedan faith. It simply consists of an en- 
trance hall, of small size, the roof supported by two 
columns of a similar character to those in the 
principal tomb at Beni- Hassan, and an inner 
sanctuary. A triad of gods is sculptured in niches 
at each end of the hall. The walls have originally 
been richly decorated with painting, now obscured 
by dust and damp. Upon the external walls of the 
area which encloses the entrance, is a series of 
admirably executed sculptures, of the time of 
Barneses II., the best period of Egyptian art, re- 
cording the victories of that sovereign over the hostile 



414 



UP THE NILE. 



tribes of Ethiopia and Arabia : they furnish most 
valuable details of the military costume of the 
chiefs on both sides ; which render this little build- 
ing, in the opinion of Wilkinson, " next to Abou- 
Simboul, the most interesting monument in Nubia." 
Coloured casts have been fortunately made for the 
National Museum, and may, therefore, be most con- 
veniently studied at home. 

The people of Kalabshe are by no means an 
agreeable race ; continually quarrelling among them- 
selves or with their neighbours, and greedy in exac- 
tions from strangers. When Belzoni landed here to 
visit the temple, they gathered in a mass round the 
entrance to prevent him, unless they were first paid 
for that privilege. The promise of backsheesh after 
the visit would not satisfy them ; an angry altercation 
ensued, but, as they mustered in a large, determined 
mass, Belzoni and his attendants prudently retired ; 
when a soldier among them having threatened " that 
he would remember them," the mob drew their 
daggers, seized his gun, and a general scuffle took 
place. While all this was going on at the temple, 
another group had attacked the boat to rob it, and 
might have succeeded in doing so, but for the 
determined courage of Belzoni and his men. 

Warburton speaks of these Nubians as bearing 
" such a character for courage and determination, that 



ASSOUAN TO ABOC-SIMBOUL. 



415 



neither tax-gatherer nor conscript-catcher has ever 
ventured within the walls of the town of Kalabshe." 
The practice of constantly carrying arms soon gives 
a serious turn to every dispute ; and Nubian men are 
seldom unarmed; for if not bearing the usual long, 
light spear, and circular shield, they invariably retain 
a small knife or dagger, which has a strap, or twisted 
thong of leather, attached to its sheath, allowing it to 
be passed round the upper part 
of the arm, above the elbow, 
where it is no inconvenience to 
carry, and always easy to un- 
sheath. The engraving repre- 
sents one of these daggers, 
brought by the author from 
Nubia. The spears are gene- 
rally provided with very long 
thin blades, sometimes with 
extra serrations, and mounted 
on cane sticks, round which is 
often wound a thin continuous 
strip of crocodile skin. Its light and effective cha- 
racter makes the spear a formidable arm, and it may 
be casf to a great distance with dangerous preci- 
sion. The shield is circular, and has a hollow boss in 
the centre, crossed by an iron bar, thus giving the 
hand a very secure hold; it is generally covered with 




416 



UP THE NILE. 



hippopotamus hide. The Nubian men wear very few 
clothes ; sometimes a sort of tunic or shirt, with short 
wide sleeves, or often without them, is considered" full 
dress ; " more frequently a napkin twisted about the 
loins is the entire costume. The old men wrap 
themselves in flowing robes of cotton, and wear 
turbans ; but the hair alone is considered a sufficient 
head-dress by their juniors, who retain it in a profuse 

mass, thickly matted with dirt 




and castor oil. They often have 
a peculiar mode of arranging 
the hair in a large tuft on the 
top of the head ; so that it looks 
like a small upright cap ; below 



this it is left thick and matted, 
but trimmed at the ends to a straight line with 
scrupulous precision, as represented in the cut. 

Travellers have been generally found to speak 
enthusiastically of the Nubian women. Warburton 
thus remarks : " She is more free than her Egyptian 
neighbour, and also far more virtuous ; she seldom 
wears a veil, and, as she bends over the river to fill 
her water-jar, or walks away, supporting it with one 
hand, no statuary could imagine a more graceful 
picture than she presents. Her light and elegant 
figure has that serpent sinuousness, when she moves, 
that constitutes the very poetry of motion, and 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOTTL. 417 

resembles gliding rather than walking. Her face is 
finely oval, and her dark eves have a gentle and 
inquiring^ though somewhat sad expression, that 
seems to bespeak great intelligence. Her com- 
plexion is very dark, but it is of that bronze colour 
so familiar to our eyes in statues, that it forms no 
detraction from the general beauty of this graceful 
and winning savage. ;; This description, though 
highly coloured, is in the main correct ; it is certain 
that they are veil formed, and have much dignity of 
bearing. Their features, too, have a massive Greek 
contour, and their expression is agreeable ; but the 
practice of disfiguring the face by tatooing it, colour- 
ing the lips blue, and wearing nose-rings, injures 
their general effect, which is best studied at a dis- 
tance, owing to the intolerable fetor of the castor oil 
with which they soak their hair, and grease their 
bodies, roughly preparing it themselves by pounding 
the bean of the plant. 

The remarks and cuts on pp. 376 — 80, make it un- 
necessary to dwell upon any other peculiarities of 
Nubian costume, unless it be to notice the increased 
amount of ornaments, made up from cowrie-shells, 
generally worn by them ; as well as beads, bracelets, 
&c, from rough silver, and nose-rings occasionally 
formed from pure gold, Bv the courtesy of Alfred 
Denison, Esq. (brother to the Speaker of the House 

t 3 



418 UP THE NILE. 

of Commons); I am enabled to add a very good 
example of a gold nose-ring he obtained at Kalabshe ; 
it is as flexible as pewter, and decorated with small 




indentations; from the same wearer was obtained 
the larger earring, engraved beside it (both being 
represented to a scale of one-half the size of the 
originals) ; it is of silver, decorated with reeded 
open-worked ornament at one end, which terminates 
with a red bead. It is too heavy to hang to the ear, 
so the lobe of it was inserted in the aperture, and the 
ring kept in place by a thin strap of leather which 
passed over the head, another ring in the centre giving 
a means of securing it there. The woman from whom 
they were obtained, when with difficulty persuaded to 
part with them, had to secure the approbation of 
her heirs- at-law, who had reversionary interest in 
them (for they pass from mother to daughter, or 
next relative, and are consequently sometimes of 
ancient workmanship) ; and a large group of them 



ASSOUAN TO ABOr-SIMBOUL. 



419 



assembled to witness the sale, and take share of the 
proceeds. When these women become old, they 
grow withered and ugly, with dry, fleshless skin 
drawn tightly over the bones, exactly in colour and 
style of a mummy, the bony legs and arms showing 
through the coarse dress ; nothing but the hideous 
inventions in a German witch-picture can realise 
their looks. 

We just enter the tropic as we stay to examine the 
next antique ruin — the temple at Dandour. It is 
the smallest in Nubia, consisting merely of a portico 
with two columns in front, two inner chambers, and 
a sanctuary. It was built during the reign of 
Augustus Csesar, by whom it is supposed to have 
been founded. It stands on the western bank of 
the Nik, and is protected from the encroachments 
of the river by a vast mole, forming a platform 
in front of the pylon — out of character with the 
insignificance of the temple it preserves. It is not 
picturesque, nor does it contain any particular feature 
of interest which need induce the traveller to delay 
his upward course, should time or the " accident of 
the hour" make it desirable to proceed. 

At Gerf-Hossayn, near Gyrshe, is a rock temple, in 
depth about 130 feet. The interior bears some 
resemblance to that at Abou-Simboul, with a row of 
colossal figures against the pillars, nearly 18 feet 



420 UP THE NILE. 

high, but rudely executed. The walls have been 
covered by hieroglyphics and inscriptions, now much 
defaced, as the interior is blackened by the fire- 
smoke raised by the Arabs, who occasionally reside 
in it. It stands upon a platform excavated from the 
limestone rock, at a considerable elevation above the 
plain. A flight of steps, in front, originally led to 
it from the river. Warburton calls it '.' the most 
striking and characteristic spot in Nubia/'' and 
the mysterious little rock temple " the strangest, 
most unearthly place I ever beheld." At Gyrshe, 
on the opposite bank, are the remains of a similar 
temple, and many excavations now used as residences 
for the natives. The Gebel Heyzorba towers above 
all. The river here is shallow, and fordable in the 
summer. 

Another ten miles of travel accomplished, we then 
reach Dakke, remarkable as the place where the 
famous Ethiopian Queen, Candace, was defeated by 
the Roman army under the command of Petronius. 
The Temple of Dakke is small but singularly perfect, 
as may be seen in Roberts's view, who describes it as 
an exquisite little ruin, both in the execution of its 
sculptured details and in their preservation. The 
apartments are not larger than middling-sized Eng- 
lish rooms ; and such parts as have not been wholly 
destroyed, present a surface as fine as if the work 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



421 



were recently finished. In later time, it lias been 
used as a Christian church, and there are traces of 
some Greek sacred paintings above the pagan sym- 
bols : difficult as they are to trace, enough remains 
to show that, as works of art, they are superior to 
many of those by the early Greek painters found in 
the Italian churches. 

At Korti, three miles further up the stream, the 
remains of a temple, consisting merely of a gate, 
bearing the name of Thothmes III., is seen ; about 
the same distance farther, at Maharakka, is a 
ruined hypsethral structure, tumbling to decay, and 
only remarkable for its power of adhesion. The 
capitals are roughly hewn in blocks^ the walls almost 
destitute of sculpture, and it appears to have never 
been properly finished. It bears traces, like so 
many others, of having been used by the early 
Christians as a place of worship. 

An ancient pier will be noticed projecting from 
the western bank of the stream ; it is one of several 
constructed to protect the alluvial soil from the 
too rapid action of the water, after the inundation 
left the higher land for the husbandman's labour. 
The plan has been adopted by the modern Nubian, 
who constructs similar rough breakwaters to secure 
the little land which is so valuable to him. 

Saboua, or "VTady Saboua, is the next place with 



422 



UP THE NILE. 



ruins to examine. It is twenty miles from Maha- 
rakka. The name of this place literally signifies 
" the Valley of the Lions/' but it is not derived from 
the haunt of these beasts, but from the long dromos, 
or avenue of sphinxes, now in a state of mutilation, 
and supposed by the natives to represent lions. They 
originally lined a causeway, 180 feet in length, reach- 
ing from the river to the temple. Immediately in 
front of the great gate stood two fine colossal figures 
14 feet high, now fallen to the ground ; each bears 
on the left side a tall emblematic staff, surmounted 
by a ram's head, with the asp and disc. They are 
beautifully represented, as well as this temple, in 
Roberts's great work. The temple is built in front of 
the rocky hill, out of which the adytum is excavated ; 
the inner chambers are now choked with sand, drifted 
in the course of ages from the arid plain around. 

The country here is lonely and wild : the desert 
encroaches on all sides, and sand usurps the land. 
On the east bank high sandstone cliffs approach the 
water. At Korosko the river takes a sudden bend, 
winding completely round between that place and 
Ibreem, inconveniencing very frequently the traveller 
who depends on wind, and delaying the journey in a 
most uninteresting and unpleasant locality. The 
thirty miles from Saboua to Deir is a great tax on 
the patience. A short distance before we reach the 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SMBOUL. 



423 



latter place the Temple of Amada, at Hassaia, is 
risible ; it is situated in a picturesque but arid dis- 
trict ; it is very small : " a portico, a transverse 
corridor, and three inner chambers, constitute the 
whole of this elegant little temple. It is now half 
buried in sand. The sanctuary is entire, and its 
walls, as well as those of the two lateral apartments 
with which it communicates, are covered with small 
and beautifully executed hieroglyphics, which, though 
slightly raised, are still sharp, and the colours so 
remarkably preserved that they might be transferred 
to paper/'' Such is the description appended to 
Roberts's sketch : this temple bears upon it the 
hieroglyphic names of Egyptian sovereigns from 
Thothmes III. to Osirtasen III. It has been con- 
verted into a Christian church, and is still sur- 
mounted by a mud-worked dome. Traces of the 
ruined Christian town are near. 

Less than four miles onward and we reach Deir, 
the mud-built capital of Xubia. Its dusty hovels 
are, however, carefully built and well sheltered by 
palm-trees, which grow with great luxuriance about 
the place and produce fine fruit. Some of the huts 
are pleasantly situated in vegetable gardens; and 
the inhabitants seem to enjoy a savage happiness, as 
they loiter under trees, amid swarms of naked chil- 
dren. The temple here is in a very ruinous state. 



4.24 UP THE XILE. 

The sculptures commeinorate the wars of Rarneses 
the Great, but are much mutilated. Its portico was 
originally decorated with sixteen pillars : nearly all 
are now fallen. It has some chambers, and a sanc- 
tuary cut in the rock to the depth of 110 feet, with 
mutilated figures of gods at its farther end. 

The river now becomes particularly lonely, and 
the traveller will seldom encounter another boat. 
On the western bank are some excavated tombs, 
with sculptures and painting, calling for no parti- 
cular notice. After fourteen miles of dull travel the 
fortress of Ibreem is seen on the eastern bank; 
occupying a bold headland crested with the ruins of 
walls, towers, and defences: but it contains few 
relics of antiquity, and those a mixture of Egyptian 
and Roman, of a late date and in a bad style. 
Nothing can be imagined more lonely as an abode 
than this fortress : the Nile and the sun are the 
only things that appear to move here ; and there 
is no water except what is obtained from the river. 
From its elevated situation the look-out is confined 
to desolate mountains and arid desert ; sometimes, 
but rarelv. a boat brings a traveller. Its height 
above the river is from 200 to 300 feet. It is 
now totally deserted: but it was in useful order 
when Ibrahim Pacha was besieged in it bv the 
Memlooks whom he had driven out of Egypt, and 



ASSOUAN TO ABQU-SLUBOrL. 



425 



who surrounded this stronghold for many months, 
intercepting all provisions, until he ultimately ob- 
tained aid from Lower Egypt, and drove them still 
farther south, 

Ibreem is celebrated for its date-palms ; they pro- 
duce a fruit of unrivalled quality, very much more 
luscious in flavour than are to be had elsewhere, of 
dark colour, and more like a rich preserve than a 
naturally grown fruit. They are much valued by 
connoisseurs, and fetch large prices. 

Thirty-four more miles of wild and lonely river, 
and the traveller reaches the world-renowned, rock- 
cut temples of Abou-Simboul. The arid rocks near 
it take the most fantastic forms, unlike those about 
Philse, but having the same weird-like, ruined look, 
as if broken from the mainland in an awful natural 
convulsion. One is pyramidal, others cliff- like, 
coming forward in great masses from the main 
strata. At Abou-Simboul, the almost perpendicular 
rock shows sections of its strata over the entire 
surface. Nearest the Nile is one of the two temples 
that have given celebrity to this locality. This is the 
smaller, and was first known. Like the larger, 
it is cut into the face of the rock, having six 
figures on its front, each measuring feet in height 
to their knees only, and 30 feet entirely. The larger 
temple is separated from it by a cleft in the rock, 



426 



UP THE NILE. 



almost perpendicular, which had made a sort of sloping 
avenue, down which the sand had fallen, until the 
entrance to this noble temple, and the colossi at its 
gate, had become obscured. It remained for the 
celebrated traveller Burckhardt to discover, when 
he visited Nubia in 1813. He had inspected the 
smaller temple by the river, when, on ascending this 
cleft, "having, luckily, turned more to the south- 
ward, I fell in with what is still visible of four 
immense colossal statues cut out of the rock, at a 
distance of about 200 yards from the temple. They 
are now almost entirely buried in the sand : could 
the sand be cleared away, I suspect a vast temple 
would be discovered." Upon his return to Cairo he 
made Belzoni acquainted with this, who enthusiasti- 
cally prepared to excavate it in 1816, when he first 
visited it; but the difficulties he had to contend 
against were the idleness of the people, and their 
total ignorance of the value of the money he offered 
them. After much weary parleying, he returned 
northward, and the following year was joined at 
Philse by Captains Irby and Mangles, with whom he 
returned to Abou-Simboul, and effectually exhumed 
the temple. Belzoni's enthusiastic pages must be 
consulted for a lengthened and interesting narrative 
of the work. 

The fa9ade of this grand sanctuary is formed by 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOUL. 



427 



cutting the base of the vertical rock into the neces- 
sary shape; its slight projection allowing the forma- 
tion of four colossal figures in complete relief, as if 
seated and resting against it. So enormous are their 
proportions that the forefinger of each is three feet 
in length, the entire height being about sixty-six 
feet. In the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, are 
copies, the full size, of two of these figures ; and from 
them an idea may be formed of the general character 
of the originals. One is quite perfect ; the second 
has been broken as far as the knee ; the third is 
buried in sand to the waist ; and of the fourth, the 
bust is alone visible. The entrance gate is between 
the two central figures, and is surmounted by a 
statue of the god Re, or the Sun, to whom the 
temple was dedicated by Rameses II., who is repre- 
sented in the act of sacrificing to him. Above all is 
a frieze, with monkeys sculptured in it : the entire 
height of the fa9ade is a hundred feet. 

" A vast and gloomy hall/' says Warburton, cc re- 
ceives you in passing from the flaming sunshine into 
that shadowy portal. It is some time before the eye 
can ascertain its dimensions through the imposing 
gloom ; but gradually there reveals itself, around 
and above you, a vast aisle, with pillars formed of 
eight colossal giants, upon whom the light of heaven 
has never shone. These images of Osiris are backed 



428 UP THE NILE. 

by enormous pillars, behind which run two great 
galleries, and in these torchlight alone enables us to 
peruse a series of sculptures in relief, representing the 
triumphs of Rameses II., or Sesostris. The painting 
which once enhanced the effect of these spirited 
representations, is not dimmed, but crumbled away; 
where it exists the colours are as vivid as ever. 

"This unequalled hall is one hundred feet in length; 
and from it eight lesser chambers, all sculptured, 
open to the right and left. Straight on, is a low 
doorway, opening into a second hall of similar height, 
supported by four square pillars ; and within all, is 
the adytum, wherein stands a simple altar of the 
living rock in front of four large figures seated on 
rocky thrones. This inner shrine is hewn at least 
one hundred yards into the rock ; and here, in the 
silent depths of that great mountain, these awful 
idols, with their mysterious altar of human sacrifice, 
looked very pre-Adamitic and imposing. They seemed 
to sit there waiting for some great summons which 
should awaken and reanimate these ''kings of the 
earth/ " 

Few travellers will venture another dreary forty 
miles beyond this to the second cataract, there being 
nothing but a few excavated tombs and small temples 
on the way. At TTady Halfeh (literally the valley 
of desert grass), within five miles of the cataract, 



ASSOUAN TO ABOU-SIMBOTJL. 



429 



are slight remains of early buildings. The cataract 
is a succession of rapids extending over some miles, 
but possessing less remarkable features than those 
we have contemplated at Philse. 

Thebes, Edfou, or Philse are admirable termina- 
tions to a Nile voyage, and may be chosen at a tra- 
veller's convenience ; but the peculiarities of Abou- 
Simboul, its grandeur and its colossal sculpture, 
leave it without a rival as an example of the noble 
art of the most remarkable nation of the ancient 
world. 



430 



UP THE NILE. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE NILE IN ITS SACRED AND SANATORY ASPECT. — 
THE RETURN VOYAGE. 

Egypt is in every way the most remarkable nation of 
antiquity. Hence no place possesses greater interest 
for the mind of the philosophic inquirer than the 
Valley of the Nile. Hemmed in by the arid moun- 
tains which confine it on one side from the Arabian, 
and on the other from the African desert, watered by a 
river whose marvellous natural phenomena gave it a 
sacred character to the men of antiquity, it was here 
that the arts of civilisation developed themselves at 
so early an era, that we are sometimes compelled to 
allow priority of invention to them, when we had 
imagined many so-called discoveries belonged ex- 
clusively to modern time. Here, too, the earliest 
traces of religion, and an established priesthood, are 
to be found, — irrespective of that given in the books 
of Moses, himself educated in the land, and skilled 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



431 



in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Notwithstand- 
ing the existence of much that is grotesque to our 
eyes in the pictured forms of their pantheon, it is 
clear to such as will properly study them, and the 
living creatures consecrated to the deities, that they 
looked " through nature up to nature's God " in the 
whole scheme of their theology. Thus many living 
things were sacred from their presumed typification 
of the greater phenomena of nature, as we have had 
occasion briefly to show in our notes on the apis, ibis, 
cat, crocodile, &c. ; and w T hich are more fully de- 
scanted on by the band of authors who have devoted 
themselves to Egyptian theology. The Nile, in the 
opinion of the ancients, was a constantly recurring 
miraculous proof of the power and benignity of the 
great god Osiris, and inasmuch as they depended upon 
the annual inundation for the welfare, for, indeed, the 
very existence of the country, the stream was sacred 
in their eyes, and was represented as a god in their 
pictorial pantheon. He is usually depicted in human 
form, his head surmounted by a group of water- 
plants in bud and flower, apparently the lotus, once 
so common, now so rare, upon the stream. He is 
generally shown as if in " good condition" — a stout, 
well-filled figure, befitting the god who is the realisa- 
tion of one who fertilises " the fat meads " of Egypt. 
The tint of his flesh is highly-coloured, as some 



432 



UP THE NILE. 



think, to indicate the rich nature of the soil; and 
occasionally we find the Nile in a duplex form, with 
two figures precisely similar, the one coloured red, 
the other blue, probably intended to delineate the 
two great branches of the stream, now known as 
the white and blue rivers, forming their junction at 
Khartoum ; or, in the opinion of other writers, they 
may typify Tipper and Lower Egypt; or, possibly, 
the eastern and western banks of the Nile. These 
two figures are generally represented as we see them 
on the thrones of the colossi at Thebes, face to face, 
engaged in binding the royal seat with river-plants, 
typical of the stability and fertility thus ensured to 
the kingdom. In the Great Temple of Luxor, Nilus is 
delineated as the guardian and protector of the royal 
children. When alone, he is usually accompanied 
by fruits and flowers ; his costume simply consists 
of a broad decorative collar, and a girdle from which 
three bands depend in front. By far the most curious 
emblematic representation of the god occurs in the 
sacred chamber at Philse, where his mystic history 
is depicted, and his rites were anciently performed. 
From this the engraving on the following page is 
copied. The deity of the river is kneeling, and 
pouring a double stream from two vases held in his 
hands. The mystic serpent surrounds and protects 
him at the foot of his rocky abode. On the summit 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 433 

of these cliffs, stand a hawk and a vulture ; it would 
not perhaps be possible more clearly and ingeniously 
to typify the river in its sacred and mundane 
character. 




The Greeks and, more particularly, the Romans, with 
the easy facility which characterised their creed, and 
led them to see in the gods of other nations varieties 
of their own, or new emanations easily embraced in 
their cycle of the deities, willingly accorded the place 
of honour given to Nilus by the Egyptians ; hence he 

u 



434 



UP THE NILE. 



appeared on the Roman coinage upon an equality 
with their own Tiber, and other river gods ; but 
his form takes, of course, that less conventional one, 
suitable to the refined freedom which characterised 
Eoman art. After the Emperor Hadrian had visited 
Egypt (about a.d. 130), he commemorated the jour- 
ney upon the coins he issued, and Nilus appears 
upon several of them. He is personified as of middle 
age, with flowing beard, the lower part of his mus- 
cular form covered by ample drapery, gathered over 
the right arm. He is seen to most advantage upon 
the reverse of a gold coin, as finely executed as 
any gem ; a copy of it adorns our title-page. Here 
Nilus reposes, with his left arm on a sphinx; he 
bears a cornucopise in the right, and a flowering rush 
in the left hand ; the former filled with corn and fruit, 
typical of the fertility of the stream which flows at 
his feet, and in which we see a crocodile ; a hippopo- 
tamus has just left the water, and is retiring in the 
background. It would be impossible to conceive a 
more apt and beautiful illustration of the peculiarities 
of the river. The contrast between the earlier Egyp- 
tian allegory and this is perfect, yet each is equally 
happy in typifying the stream. In the museum of 
the capitol at Rome is a famed colossal figure of 
Nilus, which was found in the Colonna gardens, 
and is attributed to the time of the Antonines. It 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



435 



resembles the figure on the coins, but is surrounded 
by sixteen children, typical of the number of Soman 
palms the river reached, in extra height, during the 
annual inundation. 

Irrespective of its sacred character, the river was 
valued by the men of antiquity for its sanatory pro- 
perties, an opinion still held by the modern Egyptians, 
as noted in p. 114. "What ? do you crave for wine 
when you have the Nile to drink from V } was the in- 
dignant query of Pescennius Niger to his dissatisfied 
soldiers during his Egyptian campaign. Sandys 
gives his experience of the belief, in the quaint 
words : — " Than the waters thereof there is none 
more sweet ; being not unpleasantly cold, and of all 
others the most wholesome. So much it nourisheth 
as that the inhabitants think that it forthwith 
converteth into blood ; retaining that property ever 
since thereinto metamorphosed by Moses. For 
which cause the priests of Isis would not permit 
their Apis to drink of the same; because they 
would neither have him nor themselves too fat and 
corpulent, that the soul might the better exercise 
her faculties, being clothed in a light and delicate 
body." 

The great fertility of Egypt has always been 
celebrated; and the rich deposit of mud annually 
brought down the stream during the inundation, is 

u 2 



436 



UP THE NILE. 



unrivalled for agricultural uses. Its component 
parts have been thus analysed by Regnault, in the 
" Memoires sur TEgypte : " — 

11 water 

9 carbon 

6 oxide of iron 

4 silica 

4 carbonate of magnesia 

18 carbonate of lime 

48 alnmen 

100 

Wilkinson observes that " the fertilising properties 
of the alluvial deposit answer all the purposes of the 
richest manure. Its peculiar quality is not merely 
indicated by its effects, but by the appearance it 
presents ; and so tenacious and siliceous is its struc- 
ture, that when left upon rocks and dried by the sun, 
it resembles pottery, from its brittleness and con- 
sistence/' The great heat of the sun splits the 
banks of the stream into deep fissures \ these banks, 
when the stream is low, are ten or twelve feet in 
height, a solid wall of mud, but each year's deposit 
may be clearly detected in any section thus formed, 
in the same way that we may determine the age of 
a tree by the concentric rings visible in its stem ; 
for it is a curious fact that this liquid mud does not 
amalgamate with the previous deposit, although that 
be softened by the overflow of the stream, but may 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 437 

be separated in layers,, generally about one-eighth of 
an inch in thickness, with perfect ease, the upper 
and under surface of each being as flat as a sheet of 
cardboard. Viewed under a powerful microscope 
the component parts of this fertile deposit present a 
singularly interesting epitome of the course of the 
stream — fragments of syenite, basalt, and other rocks, 
indicating its passage from the interior of Africa to 
the sea. 

Of late years the Nile has been the favoured resort 

m 

of invalids, whose transit has been rendered easv bv 
the extraordinary facilities offered by steam-boats 
and railway, all under European control. English 
medical men have greatly favoured this new influx 
of travellers • and many a Nile boat may now be 
looked upon as a floating sanatorium. On this subject 
we must now speak. 

The report of the twentieth meeting of the British 
Association for the Advancement of Science^ held at 
Edinburgh, 1850, contains a paper by T. Spencer 
WeUs, F.R.C.S., on the climate of the valley of the 
Nile, compiled from notes taken during a journey 
made between Cairo and Thebes, from December 6th; 
1849, to March 6th, 1850 ; and in order to judge of 
the advantage to be gained by an English invalid 
passing the winter in Egypt, he draws the following 
comparison between that country and England : — 



438 UP THE NILE. 

"The mean temperature of the air during this 
period of observations at Greenwich was 39 r 3' : on 
the Nile it was 61 c . 

"The mean temperature of evaporation at Green- 
wich was 37° 4' : in Egypt 55 c . 

"The mean temperature of the dew point at 
Greenwich was 34 c 1' : in Egypt 50 c 8'. 

" The mean elastic force of vapour in Egypt was 
0384; at Greenwich 0-214 

" The mean weight of water in a cubic foot of air in 
England was 3 grains: in Egypt 4^ grains: but 
still, owing to the higher temperature, the air was 
much drier in Egypt. At Greenwich the mean 
additional weight of water required to saturate a 
cubic foot of air was only * of a grain, while 
on the Nile it was If grain. If we represent air 
completely deprived of moisture by zero, and air 
completely saturated as unity, the mean degree of 
humidity on the Xile was 75 per cent., while at 
Greenwich it was 85 per cent. 

" The average weight of a cubic foot of air at 
Greenwich was 549 grains ■ in Egypt 5:27 grains. 

" Eain fell in various districts of England on 
averages from thirty-one to sixty-one days : while in 
Egypt it only fell on five days, and on three of these 
a shower was of but a few minutes duration. On 
two days rain fell heavily at Cairo for several hours, 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



439 



" The mean daily range of the temperature of the 
air at Greenwich was 1 1 • 3 7 ; in Egypt 10*31; but 
while the mean extreme range in Egypt was 38, at 
Greenwich it was but 29 \ the mean extreme range 
in the cabin being onlv 7° below that on the grass at 
Greenwich in the open air. 

"Fog was occasionallv but rarelv observed. It was 
general in the Delta, in the early morning ; but 
above Cairo it was onlv observed on three occasions.-" 

To the above facts I may now add my own ex- 
periences. My notes of temperature were taken 
during the month of January, 1861 \ and, like those 
of Mr. TTells, in an unusually cold season. We had 
very heavy rain at Cairo on the night of the 1st of 
January, and the thermometer was as low as 
52° (Fahrenheit) ; thick fogs were on the river in 
the morning, and we did not escape them till we got 
beyond Minieh. I kept the following record from 
the 7th of January, noting by the same ordinary 
thermometer, the changes of temperature between 
morning, noon, and evening : — 





8 a.m. 


Noon. 


Sunset 


Jan. 8 


53° 


85° 


65 3 


„ 9 


49 


98 


67 


„ 10 


76 


70 


70 


„ u 


62 


105 


63 


. 12 


61 


100 


66 1 



440 



UP THE NILE. 



The above was obtained by means of a thermometer 
hung outside the cabin door. The following was the 
temperature inside the saloon, beginning from the 
two hot days last noted : — 

V 





8 a.m. 


Noon. 


Sunset. 


Jan. 13 


45° 


68° 


62° 


„ 14 


50 


60 


65 


„ 15 


50 


64 


67 


„ 16 


51 


61 


64 


„ 17 


50 


69 


67 


„ 18 


54 


65 


62 


» 19 


48 


63 


55 


„ 20 


53 


64 


66 


„ 21 


55 


65 


65 


„ 22 


55 


67 


62 



Midnight or early morning was accompanied by a 
cold, felt the more intensely by the contrast with the 
midday heat. Indeed, the changes were constant 
every four or five hours, and forcibly brought to 
mind the old complaint of the patriarch Jacob to 
Laban : — " By day the drought consumed me, and 
the frost by night. " The boats have no accommoda- 
tion for artificial heat ; and the intense cold, which 
will often wake an invalid in the night, can only be 
mitigated by throwing on extra covering. The doors 
and windows of the cabins generally fit badly, and 
thorough drafts of cold air abound on all sides ; this 
is as much the result of the warping of the wood, 
as of the original clumsy carpentry. As a rule it 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



441 



becomes necessary to take winter as well as summer 
clothing for the journey; and to add some of the 
former to the latter after sunset. The temperature 
was seldom comfortable before eleven in the morning, 
but after that hour it rapidly increased. Within the 
tropic the same cold was severely felt at night during 
December and January; and some travellers who 
had come in an open boat from Dongola, had suffered 
much therefrom. 

When the traveller leaves Cairo, he must be in a 
great degree self-reliant, taking in his boat the chief 
articles of necessity or comfort he may require on 
his voyage ; and, should he be an invalid, remember- 
ing that no medical aid and no medicine can by any 
possibility be obtained on his journey, except by 
the chance of what other boats, with European 
travellers, may supply. This, in itself, is no pleasant 
prospect to an invalid ; and as consumptive or lung 
complaints are those most usually sent here for cure, 
it would seem as if European doctors founded their 
judgment chiefly on the mild temperature of the 
Egyptian day, without taking into account the 
severe cold of the night. To send a delicate invalid 
up the river in a drafty boat, away from all medical 
aid, seems like a condemnation to death. A resi- 
dence in Cairo, or any town where the balmy day 
and evening might be enjoyed, and the cold of night 



442 



UP THE XILE. 



avoided, or mitigated by firing and home comforts, 
seems to be the more sensible proceeding; and in 
this view of the case I am strengthened as well by 
my own experience, as by that of a clever European 
doctor resident in Cairo, who assured me that one of 
his least agreeable tasks was to write to England, 
and advise patients not to be sent out, who were 
consigned to the East by their physicians. 

Let the invalid's position be fairly and clearly 
stated thus : — He will suffer greater alternations of 
temperature, and more frequently, than any he will 
meet with in Europe ; he will want the good food 
and comforts of an English home ; and he will be 
subject to insect annoyances, particularly "the 
plague of flies/' to an extent of which he can have no 
previous experience. On the other hand he will be 
enabled to depend on an almost uninterrupted sun- 
shine ; on days of dreamy pleasantness, as he floats 
on the shining river, closed by sunsets of a 
gorgeous loveliness, that surpass the painted glories 
of our most ethereal landscape-painter Turner; suc- 
ceeded by night, when moon and stars shine out 
with a brilliancy we never witness at home. 

Bidding farewell to the Nubians, let us imagine 
ourselves again at Assouan, prepared for a start 
toward Cairo. 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



443 



The return voyage consists of little else than 
drifting clown the stream with the current, which 
runs rapidly. The only delay is occasioned by 
adverse winds, which render the heavy shallow 
dahabeah unmanageable. In descending the river 
the large sails are closely reefed, and slung midships, 
forming convenient central poles to support an 
awning when it is required. In order that the 
slightest impediment to the free course of the boat 
be avoided, the cooking stove at the head of the 
vessel is deprived of its sides and roof ; and an open 
fireplace gives the cook much trouble when the wind 
is high. The sailors take the world easier than ever, 
lying about smoking, chewing sugar-cane, or 
sitting in a circle listening to an old song from one 
of the crew, clapping hands to time, and joining in 
its monotonous chorus. If the wind be favourable, 
nothing can be more enjoyable than this easy 
" scudding under bare poles ; " if it be against you 
strongly, there is nothing for it but to anchor and 
wait for a change. Three clays is the general duration 
of the strongest hurricane, but one day's delay is 
usually sufficient, for, if not too violent, the sailors 
row or tack from side to side of the river, the boat 
often turning completely round. Good pilotage is 
now the most important faculty to bring in requisi- 
tion, or the boat may suddenly and violently ground 



444 



UP THE NILE. 



on the sandbanks that occur so constantly beneath 
the shallow stream. 

All the crew make a point of trading on each 
voyage, and unless the traveller be very firm he will 
find his boat look more like a luggage barge than a 
pleasure boat, from the quantity of crates containing 
common pottery, boxes of oranges, and a variety of 
articles, upon which profit maybe made, in bringing 
them from the place of their manufacture or growth, 
to Cairo. The water bottles, for instance, realise 
cent, per cent. ; and every sailor scrapes what cash 
he can together, to obtain in this way an additional 
advantage to himself. Dragomen and captain have 
generally no mercy on available space ; and as the 
former class have plenty of money at command, they 
load a boat with merchandise, and will even bully 
timid travellers by asserting, with much vehemence 
and simulated feeling of injustice done them, that 
it is cs the custom " to allow all this. Unless a 
determined opposition be made, they will " try it 
on," until the traveller will find his own luggage 
" cleared out " of the hold, that their own may have 
safe shelter • thus a friend of the author's found 
his guns and ammunition placed on the cabin roof, 
to make room for his dragoman's private purchases. 

As a rule, firmness in establishing and enforcing 
due discipline in the boat, is absolutely necessary ; 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



445 



its honest assertion is never attended with other than 
proper results. 

Many of the scenes already familiar to the voyager 
will be seen from new points of view on his return; and 
some improved thereby. The rocky defile of Silsilis 
and the approach to Thebes are both better seen 
in descending the river. The part most trying to 
the patience, as the long voyage approaches its 
termination, is between Benisouef and Cairo, where 
the dull, flat monotony of the river becomes almost 
insupportable. The grand mass of the False Pyramid 
at Zaytoun is gladly welcomed as a feature which 
tells of a near approach to the Egyptian capital ; the 
sailors, too, become more active under the excite- 
ment of a visit home, or to the coffee-shops of Boulak. 
On our return one of the crew dressed himself after 
a most grotesque fashion, making a hood of a sheep- 
skin, with the tail erected over his forehead, enacting 
a wild figure-dance somewhat after the style of a 
North American Indian, at the same time loudly 
beating a drum; all his antics being intended to 
divert the evil-eye to himself, and so prevent its 
influence on the boat and its crew, which might give 
an unluckv close to the vovage. 

It will be well for the traveller to terminate his 
journey early in March, and thus avoid the Kham- 
seen wind, which is most injurious to the lungs, 



446 



UP THE NILE. 



and depressing to the system generally. From the 
beginning of November to the middle of March is 
the most favourable time for a Nile voyage. 

Returned to Alexandria, the traveller Trill there 
have abundant opportunities of "taking the chance" 
of many agreeable visits to remarkable places, if time 
and inclination serve. Ships are constantly going 
to Constantinople. Steamers go to Jaffa, and from 
thence an overland journey of thirty hours places 
the stranger in Jerusalem. The Austrian Lloyds' 
steamers (the best after the Peninsular boats) run 
from Alexandria to Trieste, and the voyage is described 
as most agreeable ; this will give the traveller 
the opportunity of seeing Venice, visiting Vienna, 
or any of the principal capital cities of central 
Europe. Those who desire a direct voyage home, 
may ensure it in the Peninsular boats, which leave 
Alexandria about the 5th, 11th, 19th, and 27th of 
each month. Those who prefer the shorter sea 
voyage, by the Gulf of Lyons to Marseilles, may 
also take places at Alexandria or Malta, by the same 
company's steamers, which also go that journey; or 
should they desire short and leisurely trips by sea, 
the French boats of the "Messageries Iraperiale/' 
have every comfort and convenience, and either go 
direct from Malta to Marseilles, or take a coasting 
voyage of Italy to that port. Starting in the after- 



THE RETURN VOYAGE. 



447 



noon of one day, they rest the following morning at 
Messina ; leaving there in the afternoon, they enter 

• 

the bay of Naples early next morning ; leaving that 
again the same evening, they rest next day in the 
harbour of Civita Vecchia ; departing thence about 
4 p.m., they reach Leghorn at 8 next morning; and 
leaving Leghorn in the afternoon, they arrive at 
Marseilles before the next midday. Though the 
rate of passage in these boats is decidedly dear — 
including full hotel charges for every meal, very 
many never being eaten — they are, however, com- 
fortably and even luxuriously furnished, and the 
table and attendance good ; the wines, as usual at all 
continental tables d } hote, execrable, except when 
ordered and paid for as an extra. The traveller 
should avoid the Italian boats, which are generally 
as dear, but dirty and uncomfortable, with extor- 
tionate and bad attendance. 

By adopting the use of these French coasting 
boats, the journey to Marseilles may be made easy 
and agreeable. A day is generally enough to see the 
ports they stop at ; but should the traveller wish to 
stop longer, he will find abundant to repay him at 
all of them. Naples — with its historic bays and 
islands, — Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Museo Bor- 
bonico, the famed collection of relics exhumed from 
them, may well occupy all his leisure. From Civita 



448 



UP THE NILE. 



Vecchia a run by railway will place the traveller in 
Rome after a three hours' transit. From Leghorn 
in an hour he may reach Pisa, and in two hours 
more Florence, by a cheap and commodious railway 
running through a lovely country. From Marseilles 
the direct line of rail leads by Aries, Nisnies, and 
Orange to Lyons, embracing picturesque views of 
the glorious Rhone, and the noble antiquities of these 
ancient towns, — second only in interest to Rome 
itself. From Lyons to Dijon and Paris, and from 
thence to London, the facilities for quick travel are 
perfect. 

Abundant choice, therefore, lies open to the tra- 
veller who may desire either to return quickly or 
leisurely home — to the one loved locality, where 

" Tn the world's volume 
Our Britain seems as of it, but not in it ; 
In a great pool, a swan's nest." 



THE END. 



JAMES S. VIETUE, PBLSTEB, CITY EOAD, LONDON. 




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1 *p 



